Broken Hearted Happiness
by Phoebe Dawson
Summary: Charlie finally gets up the nerve to ask out Amita…but she has a boyfriend. Is it too late for him? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Charlie finally gets up the nerve to ask out Amita…but she has a boyfriend. Is it too late for him?

Disclaimer: I do not own numb3rs or any of the characters and I am in no way making any money off of this

Note: This is my first time ever posting something I've written (and it did take me forever to decide to post it) so go easy on me. Oh and thoughts are in italics

Broken Hearted Happiness

'Alright Charlie you can do this' Charlie Eppes told himself for about the twentieth time that day. He was walking across the quad on the campus of Calsci. He was heading to his class. Classes never used to make him nervous, and that's saying something considering he taught his first class when he was only sixteen. No, he was fine teaching classes until the day he got his new student- Amita Ramanujan.

She was a grad student and him her thesis advisor. It wasn't that awkward at first. Of course the moment she walked into his office he noticed how attractive she was but that was easy to brush off. He saw many students that were attractive but he never thought anything of it. He was a man and he was bound, for a split second, to realize how attractive a woman was. After that second though part of his brain kicked in and told him that they were students and he never thought anything more of it.

But as time progressed every time he was Amita that second of noticing her beauty lasted longer and longer. They grew to be more then teacher/student. They became friends, and in doing so it was harder to distinguish that line between teacher and student. Those seconds grew to minutes, minutes to hours and soon Amita was in his thoughts almost as much as math (which considering how much he thought about math is saying something).

As he got closer to his class, he kept repeating his mantra under his breath. So maybe a few people thought he was crazy, but most just thought he was whispering equations, which he frequently did. He was so focused on his mantra he didn't notice his friend Larry sneak up next to him…

"Charles?" Larry spoke laying a hand gently on his friends shoulder

"Oh god Larry!" Charlie cried almost jumping a foot in the air. He hates in when people sneak up on him

"Sorry Charles, I tried getting your attention but you were so focused on whatever you were working on I guess you didn't hear" Larry responded switching some of his books from under one arm to under his other

"Give me some of those" Charles said taking some of the books from Larry. Anything to distract him from nearing his classroom- and Amita

"What were you saying? I tried to catch it but I just couldn't hear" Larry said looking relieved to get rid some of the heavy books

"Going deaf already Larry? I thought you'd have a few more years at least" Charlie kidded his friend. It was normal from them. Larry was much older then Charlie. They had met when Charlie started to attend school Calsci, Larry had taken Charlie under his wing because lets face it going to college when you're only thirteen is a big deal and he needed all the friends he could get

"Ha ha very funny Charles, I think you missed some of that peach fuzz you'd like to believe is facial hair" Larry retorted commenting on Charlie's age "but your changing the subject"

_'Damn'_ He had hoped that comment would have side tracked Larry

"Nothing. Just random equations" Charlie responded averting his eyes from Larry

"Ok, now I know there definitely is something going on. Charles I know how much you love math but you NEVER just say random equations, they normally have a purpose albeit a simplistic one. That and I may not have been able hear what you were saying but I knew it was the same thing over and over. You can tell me" Larry said again putting his hand on Charlie's shoulder

_'double damn…Oh well why not tell him'_ "I was telling myself that I had nothing to worry about"

"Oh…working on a case with Don that's making you nervous?" Larry asked referring to Charlie's recently revived relationship with his brother Don. Don is an FBI agent and Charlie is frequently called in to help Don solve cases with his math genius

"No" Charlie answered shortly praying that Larry would drop it. He didn't

"Is it your father then? Is he ok?" Larry asked, a note of concern entering his voice

_I don't know whether to feel guilty that I made him think my fathers sick or touched that he's actually concerned…_"No my father's fine" Charlie answered still avoiding Larry's eyes

"Well what is it then? Do you need to talk, cause I'm here if you need to talk" Larry responded turning Charlie to face him

_Damn you Larry_ "It's class" _why not it's close enough to the truth_

"Oh…well why? I've never seen you get nervous before a class you know this stuff like the back of your hand"

_Why can't he just drop it! _"I um…_oh screw it_…I'm nervous cause Amita's there" Charlie finally admitted

"Why are you nervous cause Amita's there? I thought you liked her?"

"I do Larry. That's exactly why I'm nervous" Charlie glanced over at Larry to see if he caught his meaning. He didn't

"Why would she make you nervous if you like her?"

_wow Larry just wow _"Because I LIKE her like her Larry, for lack of a better way of explaining" Charlie exclaimed, then realizing how loud he was, scanned the crowd to see if anyone had heard and reacted. There was no one

"Oh that again. Charles you need to get over that" Larry said simply waving a hand at Charlie

"But Larry I can't stop thinking of her. Do you know how hard it is to teach when the woman you like is in the room and she smiles at you like there was nothing better in the world!"

"No but I'm sure if I did I would understand what you're feeling. Now that you're right on time for your class…" Larry said pointing to the door. Charlie stared at the door in disbelief.

_You can do this Charlie_ "Thanks Larry. I'll see you after classes"

"Good luck Charles" Larry said waving and continuing on

"Thanks. I'll need it" Charlie said as he opened the door to start his class.

Please review. It makes me happy and want to write more :-D


	2. Chapter 2

Yay, I have reviews! God I'm a dork…

Chapter 2

'Ok Amita he's finally here, don't freak out' Amita told herself as she saw Charlie open the door to the classroom. She didn't know what she liked best about Charlie. He was so…amazing. He was brilliant and funny and handsome and so passionate about what he loved. Not that he didn't have his drawbacks (to be honest). She liked Charlie so much and he just didn't seem to notice a thing. She knew about the whole student-teacher rule but he was so different from anyone she had ever known that she just didn't care.

_Oh god here he comes_ "Hi Charlie"

_She's so beautiful _"Hi Amita. Ready for today's class?"

"Always" _Don't look at his eyes, don't look at his ey…oh god I love his eyes_

_Her smile could light up a room _"I thought it being Friday I'd give a pop quiz"

"Oo. The class is going to hate that" _just don't mention my thesis and I'll be fine_

"Well they can deal with it I thought you might want the time to work on your thesis" _that and its more time I can spend with you_

"That'd be great" _I don't know whether that's because my thesis is going to be amazing or because I get to spend time with you_

"Ok, great. Let me just start class" He turned from her then and walked to the front of the class. He announced the quiz, everyone groaned and he just smiled. What's the point in being a teacher if you couldn't have at least a little fun with your students? After finally getting all the quizzes passed out he went back to the desk where Amita was sitting

_Oh man he's sitting like a few inches from me…STOP IT! You're not some silly school girl you can handle this…oh no he said something _"I'm sorry what did you say?"

"I was saying that this equation only has a few mistakes…"

And they spent the remainder of the time working on a fairly complicated equation. Of course after they realized it was time to leave they were both very hesitant to leave each other. Amita was surprised at the conversation attempts she made. Charlie felt the same. After loitering for ten minutes they finally moved their way out of the room and to the place where Charlie leaves his bike everyday.

_Ok now just say goodbye to Amita and then you can have another few days to think of how to tell her how much you like her_ "I think your thesis is amazing Amita don't worry about it"

_Aww how sweet _"Thanks Charlie. Hey do you want a ride? We can throw your car in the back" _Oh my god did I just offer him a ride! I can't believe I just-_

"Sure that's be nice" Charlie said grinning from ear to ear

_Oh his smile could light the world _"Ok, home right?"

"Yeah home. Don's coming over for dinner. He may have work for me. He left a message on my machine"

"That's great. Tell them I say hi"

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Charlie blurted out before he could stop himself

_Did he just ask me to dinner! Umm…damn! I have a HUGE paper to write _"Thanks but I'll pass, I have this huge paper I should really get to writing. Next time?" Amita offered. She thought she saw a flash of disappointment but it was gone as soon as it had appeared

"Ok, next time" Charlie replied trying to keep the disappointment in his voice from being heard

The car ride was spent talking about nothing really. Amita just talked about her weekend after much prompting. She told Charlie that her friend, Mary, introduced her to an old friend guy friend Orlando. They had hit it off and as much as Amita hated to admit it she liked Orlando and wanted to see him again. Every time she thought of him she would feel a rush of joy and then the guilt of betraying Charlie. She had to remind herself that she and Charlie weren't dating for the thirtieth time. As Amita stole a glance at Charlie she saw he was listening intently that shouldn't quite put her finger on, it looked like envy, but Charlie being envious of anyone was laughable. Charlie's house quickly came to view and she couldn't believe how quickly the drive had gone

"Thanks for the ride Amita, I'll see you on Monday" Charlie said turning towards the door

_Say it now Amita, say how much you like him…_ "Bye Charlie, till Monday"

"Bye" Charlie waved and then walked up the path to his house

_Wimp_ Amita called herself before turning the car around and driving back to her empty apartment


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the reviews…especially the two below (not that I don't love those of you who love it, I just felt the need to address these two)

MyLadyLorna: I'll try to tune down the emotions a little

Anneack: I'm going to go with your suggestion…kinda…you'll see, I'll deal with that in a later chapter

Sorry to anyone who CAN understand math because the equation below is something that I found on the internet when I googled complex math equations, so I have no clue what it means and/or if I even translated it into spoken words correctly

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter three

"Hey buddy" Don said as he walked into the attic where Charlie was currently scribbling away at some math equation.

"X squared equals p squared is less then angle 2q and the square root of x equals the square root of p which is less then over two…"

"Charlie" Don said as he stepped over to Charlie and shook him gently. Charlie jumped slightly

"Don! Don't do that" Charlie yelled putting his hand on his chest willing his heart to slow down

"Hey I tried to get your attention but you were too busy working on…that" Don said gesturing to the chalkboard

"It's-" Charlie started to explain before Don Interrupted him

"Charlie, don't even try. Today was a long day at the office and my brain has had enough of a workout

"Oh, ok. Is dinner ready then?" Charlie said turning to the chalkboard putting down his chalk

_Wait, that was too easy. He normally asks what about _"That's it?"

_If I could only stop thinking of her - _"Uh yeah that's it" Charlie answered hurriedly after he realized that Don was talking to him. Charlie was getting used to hearing half of sentences because of all the time Amita took up in his thoughts. He just couldn't get her out of his head. He was always one to keep his emotions in check but with Amita…things were different

"What's up buddy? You're normally more interested in my work then this. Did something happen at school? With Amita?" Don jokingly nudged his younger brother laughing. He had been telling him to say something to Amita before someone else snatched her up. However, the look in Charlie's eyes made him stop. _Oh no something happened with Amita_

"No nothing happened with Amita" Charlie said in a depressed manner as he headed for the door to downstairs

_I don't like that tone, I think something did happen between him and Amita…wow Terry is rubbing off on me _"Charlie you can tell me. Its ok"

"I told you nothing happened Don. That's exactly the problem. I chickened out- again"

"Oh buddy I'm sorry" Don said putting his arm around Charlie's shoulder. He had never seen Charlie react to a woman the way he had reacted to Amita

"It's fine. I mean I can't say anything anyway. She's my student Don, if I went out with her I'd be fired and no one would ever take her seriously"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if we went out and everyone found out no one would take her seriously because they would think I only sponsored her because she was willing to go out with me!" Charlie exclaimed as he threw up his arms in frustration. Not at Don but at rules and society for implementing such standards

"Well, do you think you can hold on until she's done with her thesis?" Don suggested. It was the most logical reason of them all. If he could just wait until she was done with her thesis, then she wouldn't be his student and they would be free to date

"Looks like I have no other choice" Charlie said sighing

"Just hold out a little longer" Don said giving his brothers shoulders a squeeze as they went into the kitchen to the wonderful smell of their father's, Alan, cooking.

Sorry this isn't the best chapter looking it over but I'm writing it on a time limit…keep reviewing, I'll keep writing :-D


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Amita felt slightly nervous as she approached Professor Hayes. She was praying that this would work

"Professor Hayes?" Amita questioned as she knocked lightly on the professor's door

"Amita, its nice to see you again"

"You too professor Hayes"

"Amita call me Kelly" Professor Hayes said crossing the room to hug the younger woman. Professor Hayes was to Amita as Larry was to Charlie. A mentor and a friend.

"If you insist" Amita replied hugging back. She laughed momentarily forgetting her reason for being there

"Not that I don't appreciate the visit but I somehow doubt you came here to just say hi"

_Well what did I expect from her, she always did get to the point_ "I want to talk to you about my thesis"

"Oh I wanted to ask you how that's going?" Professor Hayes said as she sat down behind her desk and gesturing Amita to sit across from her

"Its going fine but I was wondering…well I was wondering if you could be my thesis advisor"

"Did-did I just hear you correctly?" Professor Hayes stammered. She wasn't stupid but she paled in comparison to Dr. Charlie Eppes the boyhood genius, why would she rather have her?

"Yes. I want to finish my thesis with you" Amita said strongly as if to convince herself along with Professor Hayes

"But why? Not that I don't want you, but you have Dr. Eppes"

"Well Kelly can you keep a HUGE secret?"

"Um…Amita?"

"Kelly please swear you won't tell a soul"

_I hope I'm not going to regret this _"I swear"

"I like Dr. Eppes"

"Of course you do but what's this huge secret"

"That is Kelly. I'm not talking he's a nice person, I'm talking I can't stop thinking about him like him"

"OH! Oh um how does he feel about you?" Professor Hayes asked. She was interested, she had grown close to Amita and was quite surprised that these feelings had developed

"I'm not completely sure. I'm pretty sure that he likes me as much as I like him but because he's my teacher we've never had a chance to express it"

"So you're going to switch advisors in the middle of your thesis for him?"

"Well I'm not in the middle I'll be done at the end of this semester"

"So you're switching when you're two months away from getting your doctorate" Professor Hayes stated. She wasn't really judging, she was just restating what Amita had said hoping that Amita would hear how absurd her plan is when said by someone else

"Yes. I can't take it anymore Kelly" Amita said putting her head down

"Then I'm going to help you" Professor said getting up from behind her desk and walking over to Amita and helping her up

_Yes finally I can ask him out…but wait…_"So does that mean you'll help me with my thesis?" Amita said looking at her friend and mentor hopefully

"Nope. I'm going to do you the favor of not helping you because after these two months you'll both want to be with each other that much more and that you'll finish your thesis with the smartest professor in this area"

"But-" Amita starts to object

"No buts sweetheart. Now I have another appointment. Call me when you find out what happens" Professor Hayes says as she ushers Amita out the door, and giving her a hug

"Thank you Kelly"

"Your welcome and good luck" Professor Hayes says as she shuts the door

"I'll need it" Amita says turning to go meet with Charlie for there next work session

Hope you liked it. Keep reviewing I'll keep writing :-D


	5. Chapter 5

Bold means past tense, I know that most people use italics but I normally use it for thoughts and I don't want to confuse anyone

Chapter 5

**Three months later**

Amita couldn't believe all the people that turned out to congratulate her on getting her PhD. Above no one else though was Charlie

**"Amita can I talk to you?" Charlie said softly not wanting to interrupt the joyous conversation Amita was having with Professor Hayes**

**"Sure. Kelly, I'll talk to you later" Amita said giving professor Hayes a quick hug "What's up Charlie?"**

**"I uh I just wanted to tell you that your thesis was amazing-"**

**"Thanks to you" Amita said placing a hand on his arm **

**Charlie froze for a moment at her touch but quickly recovered to stammer out "Well I wanted to tell you that and how unbelievably proud I am of you"**

**Amita just stood there frozen not knowing what to say. Suddenly, a friend of Amita's approached the two of them and asked to talk**

**"Thank you" was all Amita could say. Charlie gave Amita a hug and turned and walked off**

Amita was soon brought back to attention by her friend screaming at her from downstairs "AMITA!" Amita quickly ran to the window and realized her friend and roommate had forgotten her key

"Oh, sorry Mary I'll throw the key down" Amita said running to the table and back dropping the key down _I'm so going to hear about this when she gets up_

"What took you so long?" Asked Mary as she busted in through the door

"Just thinking" Amita said returning to the couch

"About Orlando?" Mary said mock swooning and falling onto the couch next to her

"Not really" Amita admitted

"What does that mean?"

"That means I wasn't thinking about him…much"

"Ha you were thinking about him!" Mary laughed. Her plan had worked

"Not a lot. I was thinking about something else a lot more" Trying to avoid bringing up Orlando. She didn't like thinking about him. She still liked Charlie but he seemed to just not be interested in her that way

"Like what?" Mary asked giving her a gentle shove. She had noticed that Amita had been thinking a lot lately

"Ummm…" Amita let it trail off. She didn't want to admit that Charlie still occupied most of her thoughts

"Amita you can tell me" Mary said giving her those eyes that she hated. Those eyes could make her do practically any favor for Mary

"Charlie" Amita said fully knowing what conversation she was about to start

"You're still on him?" Mary asked. She couldn't believe that after all this time she still liked him. She had known Amita since freshman year of college and she had never known Amita to react to any man like this

"Well yeah. Its just, he still hasn't said anything about his feelings. I wouldn't be so frustrated if I weren't almost positive that he likes me back"

"Well then I guess now would be a bad time to tell you that I heard through the grapevine that Orlando wants to ask you out"

"Yeah, now was a bad time because now I have to decide do I give up the chance at a relationship with Orlando for Charlie or do I tell Orlando no and ask out Charlie myself?"

"I don't know honey, I think you should go out with Orlando only because you don't know if Charlie likes you. What if you give up Orlando and he isn't willing to be in a relationship?"

"I don't know anymore. My brain hurts from thinking too much"

"Do you want Advil?" Mary asked attempting a joke

"Ha ha very fun-" Amita started but was interrupted by the phone ringing. Leaning over the arm of the chair she looked at the caller ID. Her heart stopped when she saw that it was Orlando

"Who is it?" Mary asked curious why Amita was just holding the phone in her hand and not actually picking the phone up

"Its Orlando. What do I do?"

"Do what your heart tells you" Mary offered as she got up to leave Amita to some privacy

"Hello?" Amita answered the phone hesitantly

"Hey, this is Amita right?" Orlando asked

"Yeah. What's up Orlando?"

"Um nothing much I just wanted to ask you something"

_Oh my god, oh my god_ "Go ahead"

"Amita I've been thinking for awhile, and I was wondering if you might want to get dinner this Friday"

"Like a date?" Amita said sounding like she was sixteen again. She knew perfectly well that he meant a date she was trying to stall while her heart and mind battled out what to say

":laughing: yes like a date" Orlando answered. There was a long pause where he was clearly waiting for an answer

"Hold on Orlando, I gotta check my calendar. I can't remember if it's this Friday or the next that I have a family party to go to"

"Sure" Orlando said sounding immensely relieved that was why she had paused so long (well that's what he thought anyway)

Amita put the phone in lap and stopped to think…I think I've figured it out. My heart wants Charlie but I can't have him until he admits his feelings. If he finds out that I'm going out with Orlando he'll finally admit them if he does indeed have them. If he doesn't then I'll have Orlando…"Orlando?" Amita said into the phone

"Yeah"

"I'd love to have dinner with you this Friday"

"Great. I'll pick you up at eight?"

"At eight then"

"At eight"

"Bye" Amita said before hanging up

_I hope this works_ Amita said as she glanced at the clock realizing she had planned that the friendly dinner with Charlie she had arranged was fast approaching and she still had tons of things to do.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry about those mistakes. I wrote the end at 11:30 at night and hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. I promise this one was written and reread while I was awake

Chapter 6

As Don opened the door to Charlie's house (he was still getting used to that) and the smell of his fathers cooking wafted to his nose

"Dad?" Don called out trying to find where this father is

"In here Donnie" Alan called to his eldest son from the kitchen

"Dad that smells really good…chili?"

"Made just for you" Alan told Don as he went to the pot to check on the food

"For me? Charlie is the one that truly LOVES chili. I thought you knew that it was HIS favorite" Don says taking a seat at the table. He thought his father would know his sons favorite dishes

"I know that it's HIS favorite but he's not going to be here"

"He's not?" Don said looking at his father questioningly. School was over what would he still have to do?

"Nope. He's having dinner with Amita" Alan said wiggling his eyebrows at Don

"Charlie's got a date?" Don said after recovering from the shock

"Well not really. He says it's just a friendly dinner but he's been in his room getting ready for awhile now" Alan said smiling. He always wanted Amita and Charlie to date once the student/teacher student restraints were gone. They were perfect for each other

"I'll go check on him" Don volunteered standing up and bounding up the stairs. He got to Charlie's room and started rambling. He knocked and waited for a response praying that Charlie wasn't lost in his math world. He wasn't

"Come in" Charlie called and then turned back to the mirror where he was attempting (and failing) to tame his unruly curls

"What's up buddy?" Don came in smiling

"Nothing. Getting ready for dinner" Charlie responded willing himself to not look over at Don

"With who?" Don said sitting down on the bed. He could see in the mirror Charlie battling whether or not to tell him

_Should I? Aw dad will tell him as soon as I leave_ "Amita"

"Ooo" Don was enjoying this

"Donnie you sounded like a thirteen year old girl just then"

"So what if I did…is this a date?"

"No…maybe…no" Charlie finally decided

"Well how do you not know if you're going on a date?" Don asked confused

"Amita set it up. She said she wanted to have dinner because now she didn't have to worry about classes the next day"

"But she asked you to dinner. That has to mean something"

"Don, I would like it to mean something but it doesn't" Charlie said giving up the fight with his hair and sat next to his brother

"Then make it mean something. She hasn't been your student for a month Charlie. Say something before you loose her"

"But-" Charlie started

"No buts Charlie" Don said taking firm hold of his little brother and turning him to face him "You need to ask her out or at least let her know how you feel"

"Well I was planning on telling her tonight"

"I'm sensing a but" _note to self: stop spending so much time with Terry_. Don looked at Charlie then and it hurt to see the fear, love, and hope in Charlie's eyes

"I'm scared Donnie. I've never felt like this before. What if she's already taken? Or if she doesn't like me?…I'll be crushed Don" Charlie added with tears shining in his eyes and so quietly that Don had barely heard him

_Oh Charlie...Now I have to choose my words wisely_ "Charlie you're afraid of how much it'll hurt if she can't be with you for one reason or the other, but think of how amazing it'll feel if she CAN be with you. Imagine how nice it will be to hug her, hold her hand, hold her in your arms…"

"You sound like you speak from experience"

"I do Charlie. Tell her how you feel. I think she already knows but tell her Charlie before its too late" From downstairs the doorbell rings

"Its Amita" Charlie said as the fear disappears from his eyes and is replaced by nervousness and excitement

"Go get her" Don said smiling standing up and leading Charlie out the door

"Thanks Donnie" Charlie said as they reached the stairs. Before they went down, Charlie gave Don a brief hug

"Hi Amita" Don said smiling as they reached the bottom of the stairs and Amita came into view

"Hey Don. Good to see you" Amita said flashing the smile that Charlie had fallen in love with

"You too. Congrats on your PhD Dr. Ramanujan"

"Thank you. You ready to go Charlie?"

"Yeah let me just get my wallet"

"No Charlie I got it"

"Wow. She picked you up AND she's paying" Don said smiling. Charlie got what he was implying

"Well I would've picked her up but I don't think there's enough room on my bike"

"Good point" Don ended. He could tell Charlie was anxious and he wanted to get his feelings out before he lost his nerve

"You two have fun" Called Alan from the kitchen where he had returned after he opened the door for a beaming Amita

"We will" Amita called as she stepped outside. Charlie followed suit. Before the closed Charlie turned around. Don mouthed good luck to Charlie and Charlie mouthed thanks back as he ran to catch up with Amita.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

By the time Charlie and Amita got to the restaurant neither of them could stand still. Charlie because he was getting ready to tell the woman he might possibly love that he likes her. Amita because she was about to pull off this master plan that may send Charlie into the garage to work on P vs. NP his emotional coping tool if he did indeed like her as much as she thought. They were seated quickly and they chatted away the whole night although they both knew in their heart of hearts they wouldn't remember what the other had said the next day. Desert came around and they both came to the conclusion they should share their news

"I have something to tell you" They both said at the same time. They laughed at how odd that had been. Charlie recovered first

"You go first my news can wait" Charlie offered

_Here goes nothing…please don't be too crushed_ "Remember I told you a little while ago about a guy named Orlando?"

"Yeah" Charlie remembered the name but it didn't really mean anything other then Amita had said it

"Well we have a date for Friday. I'm so excited" Amita smiled and let the joy of having a boyfriend show on her face

_Ok Charlie, don't just sit there trying to pick up the pieces of your broken heart, you'll have time or that later. Come on act surprised and happy_ "That's great"

"I know. So what was your news?" Amita asked

_Think Charlie think_ "I made a breakthrough on a case that Don mentioned in passing. It could really help him solve the case"

"That's great" Amita said as the waiter collected their plates and gave her the bill. Amita paid but was paying more attention to Charlie. He seemed OK, maybe he didn't like her after all. Though what she didn't know was after Charlie got home, told his father and brother he didn't want to talk, he went to the garage and started working on the unsolvable problem of P vs. NP while silent tears ran down his cheeks

Sorry this chapter wasn't longer but I was at the hair salon while writing this and I think that this one was emotional enough without elaborating


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Larry tried Charlie's cell phone for the tenth time. They were supposed to have met at nine, which was an hour ago. He knows that Charlie has a tendency to get lost in his math world but this was ridiculous. He tried one more time before getting out of the car. He hoped he wasn't going to bother anyone. He reached the door, and rang the bell

"Larry" Alan said semi-surprised to see him

"Hello Alan, is Charlie at home? We were supposed to meet at nine for breakfast and he's not answering his cell phone"

"Yes I know. Maybe you can get through to him" Alan told Larry inviting him in

"What are you talking about?" Larry asked quite confused. Who better to get through to someone then his or her own father?

"Charlie's been in the garage since his dinner with Amita two days ago"

_Oh no he's working on P vs. NP again…I wonder what happened last night_ "What happened?" Larry asked casting a nervous glance at the back door, which leads to the garage

"I don't know. He came home and we asked how dinner went. He looked at us with unshed tears shining in his eyes so I knew something was wrong. Don asked what was wrong but he just said he didn't want to talk he had to work on something for a new consult he got. When he headed to the garage we knew what he was going to do. He's only come in twice, that I know of, to use the bathroom and he hasn't eaten anything to my knowledge"

"You want me to talk to him?" Larry asked hesitatingly. This was not really his area of expertise. He's helped Charlie with problems but talking him out of P Vs. NP? He's seen him retreat into this before and he highly doubted that he would be the one to talk him out

"Would you? I don't know how much more luck you'll have but its worth a try. Right?"

"Right. Out the back door?" Larry said rising. He knows how to get to the garage he was just stalling, trying to think of something to say

"Yes. Oh and Larry will you take him the sandwich on the counter?"

"Sure" Larry said walking to the kitchen and picking up the sandwich. He got to the door and hesitated

"Larry?" Alan called out

"Yes?"

"Thank you"

Larry just smiled and walked out the door.

Sorry I know it's another short one but its because I was debating between two short ones and one long one and the census said 2 short, but I'm writing the other short one write now, I just had to post this one first


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

'If I try this board of equations and plug in it into the third equation on the third board' Charlie said thinking out loud. He was so concentrated on what he was doing he didn't even notice Larry enter. Larry stood back and observed his younger colleague. He loved Charlie like a brother and it pained him to see Charlie going through this. He had to admit though it was amazing to watch him work. He knew where every previous equation he had written was and had it all interrelated and Charlie flew from board to board. Larry would've quite enjoyed it if wasn't for the fact that he knew Charlie was doing this because he couldn't deal with whatever happened between him and Amita (which must have been pretty serious considering there are very few things that would cause Charlie to do this). Larry figured that now would be a good time as ever to try to get him to eat

"Charles, I see you're working on P vs. NP again. Think you're close to a breakthrough?" Larry asked figuring it was good to start out with small talk. Charlie just kept scribbling "Your father made you a sandwich " Larry said waving the plate at Charlie when he thought Charlie had turned around to see him but he looked past him to the chalkboard hanging above the one Larry was blocking

"No, that doesn't work maybe if I try this…" Charlie mumbled under his breath turning back to the board in front on him, still not acknowledging Larry's presence

"Charles, stop for a moment" Larry said walking over to Charlie and taking his (Charlie's) hand in his own and urged to get him to put the chalk down but failed

"Larry. I'm sorry, I didn't even notice you were here" Charlie said as he felt someone's hand on his "Not that I don't appreciate you stopping by but I really must finish this before I lose my train of thought" and with that Charlie took his hand out of Larry's and placed it back on the board and continued writing

"Charles" Larry spoke to him again "Please stop. I know you think you're on the track of solving this but you're not"

"How do you know what's in my head!" Charlie snapped at Larry and regretted it for a moment but then the numbers came back into his head and went on writing

"Charles, please stop writing. Eat some food, take a shower and then go to sleep"

"I can't Larry not until I finish this part of the equation" Charlie said looking over the chalkboard and erased it with a sigh that was mixed between sadness and frustration/anger

"Charles! Go inside the house right now!" Larry uncharacteristically snapped yelling at him

"Maybe if I try the first board plugged into the SECOND equation on the third board" Charlie said aloud seemingly lost in his math again

"Charles please" Larry begged. The last time Charlie did this he came out of the garage looking so cadaverous, Larry was seriously concerned about his health.

"There…no that doesn't work either" Charlie said erasing the board and throwing his chalk down and walking to the middle of the room to his stack of about 200 papers. Lifting up half the stack and then going to the third page down he looks over the equation, puts the stack back down and walks back over to the board, all the while not acknowledging Larry was still there

"Charles, you're going to work yourself sick. Please come inside" Larry tried begging one last time letting all the emotion he was feeling, show in his voice. Charlie paused then, for a moment, before going back

Larry seeing that it was useless, placed the food down on the stool, turned around and left the garage murmuring a prayer for Charlie's safety knowing fully well what was going to happen to Charlie if someone doesn't stop him soon


	10. Chapter 10

Forgot to add that chapters 8 and 9 take place two days after Charlie and Amita's date (Alan says it but I just wanted to state it again, to give you guys a time line)

This one is for all you Don and Terry lovers (Sorry but there isn't any romance between them and yes I wrote this after she left the show but I liked her character and the relationship that she and Don had)

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Three days after Charlie started work on P vs. NP 

Don Eppes dropped the file he had just finished on top of all the other files he had finished that day. He glanced at the corner of his desk and saw with a slight twinge of happiness and frustration that he was three quarters through his files.

"Memo to self: try not to get this far behind on paperwork again" Don said talking to himself

"But we all know that'll never happen" said Terry Lake, Don's partner, looking for a place to put the ice coffee she had brought, discovered there was none and just gave him the cup

"What is this?" Don asked ignoring her previous statement and eyed the cup of liquid that Terry had handed him

"Its iced coffee. It's a little warm in here and its hotter outside, I thought you might want to try it"

"Um…sure. I guess I'll try it, how bad can it be?" Don asked taking a sip. It wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be but he still likes his hot coffee better

"Yeah didn't think so" Terry said turning back to her desk after she watched Don gulp down a sip. She returned with a cup of hot coffee and took the iced coffee for herself

"Thanks Terry" Don said closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair as he took a sip of his hot coffee

"What's wrong?" Asked Terry. She wasn't only a FBI profiler with psych training, but she was also one of Don's closest friends (not to mention they had dated at the academy). She saw the nuances in his movements and saw the circles under Dons eyes for the first time that day

"Nothing. Long day of paperwork_ She probably saw right through that_

"Don this is me, you don't think I can see through your lies by now"

_Of course she saw through my lies, why wouldn't she?_ "Just Charlie" Don said simply hoping that would suffice. It didn't

"Don this is me. I could help" Terry offered laying a hand on Don's shoulder

"Charlie went on a date with Amita three days ago" Don said simply

"Yay?" Terry asked. Had Don's voice had any other intonation then it did, she wouldn't have asked

"No yay. He came back looking like he was about to cry. We asked what was wrong but he just said he didn't want to talk. He said he had a consult and then went to work on that damn P vs. NP in the garage. He's come out three times maybe"

"Oh Don I'm so sorry. Have you found out what happened? I mean he didn't tell you but did you ask Amita?" Terry said sitting on the corner of Don's desk

"I've tried calling but she hasn't picked up. Her roommate keeps saying she's out but I think she knows it's me and she's avoiding me. If it weren't for the fact that I didn't know where she lived I'd go to her apartment"

"Did you look it up in the phone book? I can't see there being more then one Ramanujan listed"

"Tried that" Don answered shortly putting his head down on the desk

_Poor Don. Poor Charlie _"Is there anything I can do?" Terry offered hoping that there really was something she could do. Don was one of her closest friends and Charlie had become like a brother to her

"The only thing I can think of is to try to get him to talk. God knows my dad and me have spent every night trying to get through to him…would you min trying to talk to him?" Don asked looking hopefully up at her

"Of course Don. As soon as were done with the paperwork?" Terry offered

"Yeah as soon as the paperwork is done" Don said visually relaxing. Knowing Terry, she'll probably get through to him. Now it was just a matter of time.

Sorry it took me so long to post (as compared to my other dates) but my mom decided that she wants to proof read it before I post but she took too long and now I'm posting without her


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Alan shook his head hard as if trying to shake the worry out of it. He had returned from the garage with one of the many sandwiches currently in the garage, all but one of them touched (and even that one had only one bite and was the one Larry had left for him for brunch on yesterday). He was so involved with his thoughts he didn't hear Don call to him

"Dad?" Don said as he walked into the kitchen "Are you ok? I called for you about five times before looking around"

"I'm ok Donnie. Just went out to the garage to see him. He's barely eaten. He's taken one bite of the sandwich that Larry left for him yesterday and that's the only trace of him eating anything since his date"

"Its ok dad" Don said giving his dad a reassuring glance and squeezed is shoulders "I've brought in reinforcements"

"What?" Alan asked. _Reinforcements? What could he mean by…_"Hi Terry" Alan greeted his thoughts being answered

"Hello Mr. Eppes" Terry greeted "How are you fairing?"

"I'm ok. I wouldn't be so worried if I didn't already know what this could do to him" Alan said sitting down the full weight of the situation dragging him down again

"Don't worry we'll talk to him dad" Don said give his father's shoulder another squeeze as he and Terry walked into the garage

As Terry followed Don into the garage she saw for the first time the mess of work that P vs. NP was. She knew that Charlie wasn't a neat person. The times she's seen his office and the work he did at the office wasn't the neatest arrangement of papers she had seen but this…this was Charlie using every surface available. As Don and Terry approached Charlie they both took careful measures to not step heavily on anything, for fear of erasing it.

"Hey buddy" Don said before he gently placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder. In that moment he didn't know what scared him more the fact that Charlie didn't give ANY sign of recognition (if he's in the middle of something he normally will say hold on a second or hold up a hand) or that Charlie didn't jump, which when he's snuck up on he normally does

"Don…" Terry started knowing why Don hadn't gone farther in the conversation

"Charlie, buddy, you ok?" Don asked. Charlie mumbled something. Don let go of a breath he had been holding. At least he was still conscience.

"Hey Charlie, its Terry. This is amazing, how long did it take you to write all of this?" Terry said attempting to start a conversation

"Three days…maybe the fifth board…" Charlie answered unexpectedly, then returning to his work

Don raised he eyebrows and signaled Terry to continue "Wow three days, I don't think I could do this much math in three weeks" Charlie just managed a weak smile

_I wonder if this will work _"Charlie what does P vs. NP mean? What is the purpose of P vs. NP?" Don asked

_Did Don just ask…_Charlie turned and truly looked at someone for the first time in three days "Um…its to determine whether every language accepted by some nondeterministic algorithm in polynomial time is also accepted by some deterministic algorithm in polynomial time"

"That's interesting. What do some of the symbols stand for?" Terry asked understanding what her partner was getting at (distracting him to the point where the days catch up with him and they can bring him inside the house again)

"Well each of the letters stands for a equation that have been previously solved and just needed to be plugged in. It's…its easier then um then writing them all out" Charlie said sitting down. Their plan had worked; the days were catching up to him

"Are you ok buddy?' Don asked rushing to his brother's side

"Yeah just a little ti-" and with that Charlie had passed out. Don wanted to smile and cry at the same time. Smile because Charlie had come out of the P vs. NP world long enough for the real world to catch up. He didn't even do that when Charlie first started to help Don. Though he wanted to cry because he saw his brother work himself to the point of sheer exhaustion.

"Terry can you get the door for me?" Don asked as he picked up his little brother. He looked down at him and saw DARK circles under his eyes and noticed that he looked thinner and felt lighter then the last time he had picked up Charlie (they had been wrestling for the remote)

"Sure" Terry said opening the garage door and then running to the house's back door

"Back so soo-" Alan started as he saw Terry open the door but stopped when he saw his Don carrying his little brother back into the house just he used to when they were kids and Charlie fell asleep in the garage

"Be right back dad" Don said and he and Terry walked up the stairs and laid Charlie down in his bed

"How did you two do it?" Alan asked, his mouth hanging open

"Well first Terry got him to talk by asking him how long he had been working and then joked about how she wouldn't be able to get all of it done in three weeks. Charlie broke a smile-" Don said

"-And then Don asked what the equation meant. I asked what the symbols stood for and it guess it was enough of a break from P vs. NP that the days of not sleeping or eating caught up to him and he fell asleep in the middle of his sentence" Terry finished

"Thank you. Now maybe we can find out what made Charlie so upset"

"Amita has a boyfriend or she doesn't like him, and considering the looks I've seen her give him I think it's the former"

"Poor Charlie…let's let him rest for a few days. Don, here go pad lock the door to the garage and then come back in I made enough food for the three of us" Alan said as he handed Don a lock and took out three bowls feeling the stress of the past few days melting away

I don't remember if Terry saw the garage when Charlie worked on P vs. NP before so I wrote it that way. Sorry if getting him out of the garage seemed abrupt and too easy but I couldn't stand keeping him in there any longer.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

As Charlie opened his eyes and the sun shone in, he was slightly confused. _What? How did I get here?_ Charlie thought while looking around the room. He couldn't remember how he had gotten into bed. He remembered working in the garage, Terry and Don came in and then her was here. As he gazed around the room again (more awake then the first time) he found Don asleep next to his bed

"Don- Donnie" Charlie said shaking him awake.

"Hey buddy" Don awoke rubbing the sleep out of his eyes

"How did I-?" Charlie started to ask

"I carried you" Don said not looking at Charlie. He hated being treated like a child and the last time Don had to carry him to bed was when Charlie was twelve. (He had fallen asleep waiting for Don to get back from their junior prom)

"How long have I been-?" Charlie started to ask again

"What time is it?" Don asked looking around for Charlie's clock

"Ten to noon" Charlie said looking at his watch

"Oh no work…I'm sorry Charlie I have to go" Don said running downstairs only to be stopped by his dad

"Where are you going?" Alan asked

"To work…if I still have a job" Don said running around the kitchen, gathering food, coffee, and his holster

"Calm down. Terry left you this, said it would explain…" Alan said handing his now frazzled looking son the note. As Don read the note a smile spread across his face "What does it say?" Alan stated wondering what had made his son smile

" 'Dear Sleepyhead, I hope you stay in the house long enough after waking up to get this. I knew when we went upstairs to check on Charlie that you weren't going to go to work the next day. So when you fell asleep, I snuck downstairs, wrote you this note, and called you in sick. Have a good day with your family, give Charlie a hug and kiss for me (I know I'm not Amita but its better then nothing)…Terry…P.S. Thank your father for breakfast (I wound up running late myself). I'll call you at one (my lunch break)'. She slept here?"

"Yes. I felt bad I wasn't going to make her go home at one in the morning when her house is half an hour away and she had work at seven thirty. Anyway, when you talk her, tell her your welcome" Alan said turning to his son

"Will do. I'm going to go back to Charlie's room" Don said standing up

"Don't bother. I've come downstairs" Charlie said padding into the kitchen and sitting down at the table

"You must be hungry" Alan stated rushing off to make lunch. What Charlie didn't notice (but Don did) was that Alan was deliberately standing in front of the back door as often and for as long as possible

"I'm starving thanks dad" Charlie said placing his head down. He felt horrible.

"I hope eggs and bacon are ok" Alan said placing the plate in front of his younger son

"Thanks dad" Charlie said. Don nodded as his father put a plate in front of him and the three sat there in silence not knowing what to say. Don finally chose to break the silence

"Charlie, I don't want to upset you but we're concerned. Why did you go into P vs. NP? What happened on your date?"

_Why? Why did he have to ask?_ "I'd rather just forget about it"

"Charlie you know that won't do any good. You know that it will just get worse with time" Alan said putting a hand on his son's shoulder

Deep breathes, Charlie, just take deep breathes 

Ok, not the best way to end a chapter but I have a plan for the next chapter and if I didn't end it now the next one won't work out very well…Amita will be in the next one for those who were wondering)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Breathe Charlie breathe_ "The dinner didn't turn out how I wanted it to" Charlie said avoiding his father's eyes but in doing so locked eyes with Don

"Charlie we know that. If it had turned out well then you wouldn't have done P vs. NP. Tell us what happened exactly"

_I can tell them; they'll understand_ "Well we babbled the whole night, which is weird for her, usual for me. I should've noticed earlier then I would have seen that she wanted to say something. Could've spared-"

"Charlie" Don interrupted gently

"Sorry. Desert came and I knew that I had to say something soon. Somehow we both said at the same time I need to tell you something, which statistically is highly improbable, but I told her to go first. I told her that my news could wait. In hindsight if I had gone first…" Charlie trailed off wishing that her wouldn't have to repeat, and in doing so relive, those moments but Don wouldn't let him

"Charlie, what did she tell you?"

"She um she- she told me that she has a boyfriend" Charlie said taking in a deep breath and letting it slowly which wasn't slow at all

"Did she say she has a boyfriend or are you assuming that?" Alan asked

"She said she has a date"

"That doesn't mean-" Don started

"Don you should have heard her. She sounded so happy and her face was glowing…she said was excited"

"Well so steal her back" Alan said as if it was the most obvious and simple solution

"Dad!" Don and Charlie both exclaimed

"What! Charlie do you lover her?" Charlie didn't have to answer with words. The look on his face said enough "Then tell her. Maybe she doesn't like this…"

"Orlando" Charlie supplied

"As much as you think. Maybe she likes you but got tired of waiting so she settled for less"

"Yeah" Don added "Maybe she'll break up with him because you FINALLY came to your senses"

"Maybe" said Charlie unconvincingly

"No. No maybes. You took too long to tell her in the first place. Don't make that mistake again"

"I'll tell her tomorrow"

"Tell her tonight" Don insisted

"Her date is tonight, I'll tell her tomorrow"

"Fine. Tell her tomorrow"

"I will" Charlie said wishing that he felt as sure as he sounded

"Thanks again Orlando" Amita said as he rode the elevator with her

"You're very welcome miss Ramanujan" Orlando said as they arrived at her door

_Again with the miss…he didn't even congratulate me on getting my PhD so why am expecting him to call me doctor? Oh that's right I THOUGHT he would remember _"Well this is me…but you knew that" Amita said getting nervous _does he expect to come inside?_

"I had a great time Amita" said Orlando giving no indication of leaving

"Me too" Amita replied and then silence followed _Ok just say goodnight_

"Ok well goodnight" Orlando said after minute or two

"Goodnight" Amita responded. Orlando kissed her softly on the cheek before leaving for the stairs. Amita opened the door letting her fingers brush where Orlando's lips had been only a moment ago

"It's about time" Mary immediately said rising from her spot on the couch

"Hi Mary" Amita greeted dropping her keys on the table by the door

"So…" Mary prompted following Amita into her bedroom

"So what?" Amita asked enjoying the frustration she was causing her roommate

"So what happened on the date?" Mary said with a tone that implied what else would I have been asking about "Did you like it?"

"It was…nice" Amita answered from her closet

"Nice? Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"What? I said it was nice" Amita answered emerging from her closet with her pjs and proceeded to change

"Yeah but you paused looking from the right word, and the tone wasn't right and its not the best word to choose if you truly enjoyed yourself- and don't try to change the word now" Mary added sitting down on the bed

_Damn her and her psych classes_ "Well I mean it was a nice date. No problems. We went to dinner at a cute little restaurant, then we went to a movie and then he took me home" Amita said climbing into bed

"That sounds like a great date, so what's the problem?" Mary asked. She looked over at her friend and read very strong conflicting emotions- joy and sadness (if it is indeed possible)

"It felt good at times but most of the time it just felt wrong"

"Ah" Mary understood now

"What?" Amita asked hurriedly. _Anything to understand why I feel this way_

"You still like Charlie. You feel guilty for having anything other then a horrible time with Orlando. You have the guilt because you love him"

"I don't know anymore. I used to think I loved him but then when he didn't do anything, I thought maybe he doesn't like me. I'd talk to him but he gets flustered when it comes to things like this. I'm just so…tired' Amita replied falling back into her pillows

"Then sleep. If you want to we can talk more in the morning"

"Thanks Mary"

"Goodnight hun" Mary said as she gave Amita a kiss on the cheek, went to the bedroom door, and turned off the light. Amita was like a sister to her. As Mary got ready for bed she made her mind. Tomorrow she would go see Charlie and find out his feelings before Amita had an emotional breakdown over a guy who may not even like her.

Hoped you guys like this chapter. I may not post for a while because finals week is from the 8th to the 14th but I'll try.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Phones rang every few moments in Don's office but it wasn't the almost constant ringing that kept Charlie from concentrating. Thinking of Amita was. Charlie felt relief wash over him when Don called to tell him that they needed his help at with a fraud case at the office. It was going well. All it would take was another hour or two to tweak the equation to work in this case and then he would know where they would strike next (and judging by their pattern, he has enough time). Though it seemed like every time he picked up the marker it triggered a memory of Amita and he would get distracted.

"Ok one more time Charlie" Charlie spoke to himself picking up the marker, placing it to the board and a memory of the time Amita, he and Larry had sat in the staff lounge discussing the possibilities of children one day. He got so rapped up that he didn't notice Don walk in

"Hey buddy how's the equation going?" Don asked snapping Charlie out of his thoughts

"Oh um good. I should be done in another hour, two at the most"

"That's great. This means we'll beat them to their next target community"

"Good" Said Charlie turning back to the board

"Is something bothering you?" Don asked

"No"

"Charlie how many times have I told you that you can't lie? You've been at that one point in the equation for fifteen minutes and all you have to do is tweak it fit this problem instead of the one from last year, what's holding you up?"

"I- I can't stop thinking of Amita" Charlie admitted sheepishly

"Ah…you really love her don't you?" Don asked. Charlie was about to answer when Terry knocked on the doorframe of the conference room where Charlie had set himself up

"Hey Charlie" She said smiling "How's the equation going?"

"It should be done in about an hour" _If I can actually start to concentrate again_

"Good. Don, you have a visitor downstairs"

"I do?" Don asked questioningly. He wasn't expecting anybody and if it had been his father he would have been let through and even if he hadn't Terry would have said that it was his father

"Yes a miss-" Terry looked down at the paper "Mary Hughes"

"I don't know any Mary Hughes"

"Oh then I'll tell the desk to send her off" Terry turned but then Charlie yelled at her to stop

"Terry! I know her…that's Amita's roommate" Charlie added when both Terry and Don looked at him questioningly

"What! I didn't ask her to come here"

"Amita better appreciate this" Mary whispered under her breath. If she didn't love Amita so much she would have turned around when they made her walk through a metal detector and scanned her purse. The doors opened and she was a little confused on where to go next. Luckily a pretty blonde woman with a badge was waiting across the hall

"Mary?" The blonde woman asked, as she got closer

"Yes" Mary answered simply

"I'm Terry. I'll take you to Don" Terry said smiling and turning to the office. Mary was amazed as she looked around the office. It felt strange to be inside FBI headquarters considering that she had never even been to her own town's tiny division of the LAPD. After walking for a few minutes she had arrived at a conference room where she saw Charlie explaining something to two men, one of which looked very much like Charlie except for his hair

"Is that Don?" Mary asked pointing to the man that looked like Charlie. After a second she realized what she had said. She asked if that was the man that had said she was very good friends with. However, when she glanced at Terry she saw she was smiling

"Yes. I'll tell Charlie you're here" She said walking into the conference room. She stayed there for a minute, than Don, the second man and Terry left. Terry nodded signaling that she could enter the conference room now

"Hi Mary…I'll be done in just…one…second" Charlie said turning to see her enter and then turned back to the board to finish writing what he had started

"Ok" Mary took a seat and watched Charlie work. She was amazed (as most people are) that Charlie could know all of this. She was good at math. Passed her classes with an A- (more then she could say for most of the class) but this…this was beyond her grasp and to him it seemed as easy as adding two and two.

"I'm sorry. I just had to finish that" Charlie said placing the marker on the ledge and sat across from Mary

"That's amazing, whatever it means" She said gesturing at the board but also stalling for time trying to figure out how exactly to go about this

"I'll explain it to you one day but you must've had something really important to talk to me about, to have come all the way to FBI headquarters" Charlie said shortly

_I thought he was supposed to be oblivious to everything but math _"Yeah. Well it's nothing as important as what I'm probably interrupting you from but I wanted to talk to you about Amita"

"I thought so…I'm curious if this is good or bad news?"

"Well that depends on you"

"What do you mean?"

_Here goes nothing_

Sorry I couldn't resist. I'll try to write the next chapter between cramming for my finals.

I just wanted to thank all of you who read this (even those of you who don't review), I remember spending a very long time debating whether or not to write a fanfic because writing was always the place I could escape from the world and I was afraid to let the world in. Though I took a chance and you've all made it so worthwhile, that when I'm done with this one, I'm going to write a second one (which I already have the idea for so watch for it after I'm done). Enjoy the chapter guys.


	15. Chapter 15

This chapter is for you Piccolo Chic :-D

Chapter 15

"They've been in there a long time" Don said leaning back in his chair for about the fifth time that hour

"Don stop that" Terry said lightly hitting him

"What? Aren't you curious?"

"No"

"Liar. Are you really trying to tell me that you're not at all curious about why Amita's roommate came down here, to the FBI headquarters, from wherever they live to speak to Charlie? And there is no doubt in my mind that she must've tried the house first before coming down here"

"Wow Don you've been thinking about this for a long while haven't you? Don't you have work to do?"

"Finished my reports/paperwork, can't do anything about the fraud until Charlie finishes the equation and the team gets back, and don't change the subject. You really aren't curious?" Don asked lifting his eyebrows up

"A little but I don't let it consume my time" Terry said smirking

"You hush up" Don said throwing a paper ball at her. He went back to filling out his last form and then called the team. That was a long phone call and by the time he was done, he saw that it was almost time to get going. Maybe he'd go over to Charlie's house (he had first thought his father's, he was still getting used to the fact that his brother had bought the house) for dinner.

"Hey Don, she's leaving" Terry pointed out as she noticed that the door to the conference room opened.

"Hmm I wonder what took so long?" Don questioned but Terry didn't get a chance to answer because at that moment Charlie and Mary started to walk towards them

"Hey buddy" Don said smiling pretending very well that he and Terry weren't just talking about him

"Hey Don" He said smiling and then he turned to Mary "Mary this is Don, Don this is Mary Hughes Amita's roommate"

"Nice to meet you. This is my partner Terry Lake" Terry smiled and waved, Mary waved back. Everyone just looked at each other for a moment when Terry decided that maybe she should get lost (she felt out of place for some reason)

"So, I'm going to make copies of those papers like you said" Terry said addressing Don. Don looked a little confused and nodded to let her go. Terry started to walk away when Charlie called out to her

"Wait Terry stay. Mary tell Don and Terry what you told me" Charlie said beaming.

_I can't remember the last time I've seen him this happy_ Don thought

"You sure?" Mary said questioningly. She wasn't sure why Charlie wanted this to be told to his brother and his brother's partner but whatever

"Yes, very sure"

"Ok. Well I came down here today to speak on behalf of Amita's heart" Mary started, Don looked confused and Terry (being a woman) understood what had happened. Don looked at Terry and got even more confused

"That's so sweet. She's lucky to have a friend that did this for her" Terry added. Don looked absolutely baffled at this point and surrendered to womanly intuition and waited patiently for Mary to finish what she was saying

"Well I don't know if Charlie told you but Amita had a date last night" Don nods and Terry's eyes widen a little at the thought that maybe she was wrong "Well I waited for her to get home last and she didn't seem all that happy with the date. It was the perfect date from what I heard but she said and I quote 'It felt good at times but most of the times it just felt wrong'. I know why it felt wrong. She loves Charlie-" Mary turns to Charlie who is blushing a very nice shade of red "-And while yes she had fun on the date, it sounded like anyone who was sane would have fun. I told her what I thought and she said that she was too confused about her feelings because she had no clue how Charlie felt. She said that she could never confront him because he gets flustered about things like these apparently. So I made the decision last night that I would talk to him for her because I've never seen her so happy when she was working with him"

"See buddy, I told you she liked you" Don said getting up and clapping him on the back

"Now I just have to tell her how I feel" Charlie said swallowing audibly. Despite the fact that he knew that Amita liked him back he was still nervous. Amita was right he did get flustered about these things

"Just tell her what you told me in the conference room" Mary said

"And what you told me before your date" Don added

"And what you said in the car" Terry added on too

"Just tell her the truth" Mary finished

"I'll try" Charlie said smiling

"Ok well I have to go. Should I tell Amita that we bumped into each other at the café by the campus and that you wanted me to give her this?" Mary asked holding up a note. Don raised an eyebrow, Terry understood

"It's a note asking her to meet me for dinner" Charlie explained catching Don's facial expression

"Oh. Good luck buddy" Don said

"Thanks. I'm going to walk Mary out and then I'll get back to working on the problem" Charlie said addressing Don and then turning to Mary to walk her out. Terry gave him a hug and wished him good luck. As soon Charlie and Mary disappeared around the corner all Don could think was _now he'll never finish that equation today_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"And where have you been?" Amita questioned as Mary walked through the door

"Out" Mary answered hanging up her sweater

"Any where in specific?"

"Nope. I just spent the day driving around, doing a little shopping. I only stopped a few times"

"Ah…have fun?"

"Tons. I got a pair of jeans, a shirt, a new bra, and…" Mary trailed off walking into her bedroom

"And what!" Amita asked impatiently after waiting a minute

"And a note for you" Mary called from her bedroom putting away her clothes (which were not new at all)

"A note? From who?"

"What does it mean to you?" Mary said teasing Amita (payback for stalling last night)

"That depends on who it's from"

"Well it's from a certain calsci professor that has a doctorate of mathematics" Mary told her walking back into the living room

"Charlie!" Amita exclaimed falling off the couch

"Y-es Ch-ar-li-e" Mary choked out between her laughter

"What does it say?" Amita said climbing back onto the couch

"I don't know. I didn't read it" Mary said as she recovered from the laughter and sat next to Amita

"Well give it to me" She said holding out her hand for the note. Mary hesitated. She wanted more payback for last night because what she said before didn't bother Amita "Please Mary"

"You suck you know that I was going to pay you back…here" Mary said relinquishing the note

"Thank you" Mary watched Amita as she read the note. It wasn't a long note but you could see as the note progressed Amita got more and more nervous but happy at the same time

"What did it say?" Mary asked when Amita had finished the note

"He wants to meet me for dinner" Amita said excitedly

"I take it that you're going to go"

"Of course. Even if he doesn't love me-" Amita paused a few seconds realizing why she had used that word. Its because that's what she felt for him- love "-he's still my friend"

"What are going to wear?" Mary said enjoying the action it was going to ensue

"Oh my god I have nothing to wear!" Amita yelled running into bedroom to tear apart her wardrobe looking for something to make Charlie drool. Mary just laughed and followed her to the bedroom. She was going to need help

"That's what you're wearing?" Don asked as Charlie came down the stairs

"Well it was what I was going to wear before you made that comment" Charlie said dropping into the chair across from Don and Terry. (The fraud case was still going on, the team was stationed in the area that Charlie had plotted out for them)

"Oh stop it Don. I think you look cute Charlie" Terry said rolling her eyes at he partner

"Thank you Terry but Don's probably right. I've never been very good at dressing myself. Why do you think I have very basic clothing? With the clothing I have I can come up with one hundred and fifty different outfits, all of them appropriate for school and home. Once it comes to going out anywhere other then food shopping…"

"You go food shopping?" Don couldn't help poking fun at his brother. It was more for Charlie's sanity then his amusement. He knew that it Charlie spent too much time thinking about what he was going to say to Amita and how she might react he might not show up

"I go food shopping…just not very often" Charlie added onto the end before his brother could accuse him of lying

"So are you seriously going to wear that?" Don asked trying to keep a straight face and failing

"Oh be quiet. Now I have to go back through everything I own"

"It's a good thing you started to get ready early" Don added one last jab. What are big brothers for?

"Ignore him Charlie" Terry said as Charlie opened his mouth "I'll help you pick out an outfit"

"Thank you Terry" Charlie said rising from the table. Don smirked

"You're helping too Don seeing as you have such a HUGE problem with his outfit" Terry said pulling Don out of the chair smiling

"Oh now I'll never get out of here in a decent outfit" Charlie quipped running to his room as he saw Don start to chase him planning to get him a headlock

"Men" Terry just mumbled to herself laughing at the Eppes brothers


	17. Chapter 17

**Warning: Some inappropriate and slightly mature things are said in this chapter. I had to do it to give Amita a valid reason to do what she does**

Chapter 17

As Amita pulled up to the restaurant she could feel the butterflies flapping in her stomach. She didn't know what to think of this dinner. The note just said 'hey Amita, I bumped into Mary in the café and it made me realize I haven't spoken to you in awhile, so I was wondering if you wanted meet me at Formia Ristorante at eight o'clock for dinner. If you can't make it call me. If you can, don't bother calling cause I'll see you there…Charlie'. Amita reached the door and she could see Charlie sitting on the bench inside waiting for her. She smiled when she saw his leg bouncing, a nervous/impatient habit. She wanted to watch him for a little while longer but realized that she was already ten minutes late, thanks to traffic, and didn't want him to think that she was standing him up.

"Hey Charlie" Amita called crossing the room

"Amita" Charlie said rising eyes sparkling to give her a hug _she looks so beautiful_

_Wow Charlie looks really cute tonight _"So do we have a table?"

"Yeah. I put our names in. It should be ready-" Charlie didn't get to finish because the host called out Eppes for two. Amita started to walk towards the host so they could be seated and Charlie hung back for a minute just watching her walk

"Come on Charlie" Amita called realizing he wasn't behind her but…_was he watching me?_

"Sorry. I got a little spaced out"

Charlie and Amita walked to the table and were seated quickly. They ordered their food and nibbled on breadsticks and shared some wine. Again the night was spent sharing stories, again Charlie knowing he wouldn't remember a thing she had said the next day. As dinner progressed Charlie relaxed a little, letting himself have a good time, all the while reminding himself that she liked him back. When the entrees arrived Charlie surprised himself by feeding her a piece of his food. Amita seemed to enjoy it though. Desert came and Charlie knew that it was time to tell her.

"And I'll have the chocolate mousse" Amita told the waiter after Charlie ordered a piece of cake. As the waiter left Amita noticed that Charlie was tracing numbers on the table (another nervous habit). She reached across the table and took his hand.

"Amita I have something I need to tell you" Charlie said suddenly. Amita almost dropped his hand at the suddenness but soon felt her stomach drop not knowing what to expect. It couldn't be good news, right?

"Go ahead Charlie"

"Well Amita, I've been thinking about this for a very long time and I decided that its time to tell you. Amita I-" Charlie started to say before Amita's cell phone rang

"Go ahead Charlie, I can get it in a minute"

"No go ahead answer it now. It might be important"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, hurry before they hang up" Amita hesitantly picked up her purse, dug out her phone, and pressed send

"Hello?"

"Hey baby"

"Who is this?"

"It's Orlando. How many people do you know that call you baby when you pick up the phone?" Orlando answered laughing

"Roughly twenty four. About ten men, all of them gay though" At the last part of the sentence Charlie raised an eyebrow and Amita laughed

"What's so funny?" Orlando asked curiously why she was laughing. He didn't say anything to her that was funny, and surely she wasn't laughing at her own joke.

"Just the face Charlie made"

"Charlie? Which Charlie?" Orlando said getting angry. He hoped it wasn't that dork math professor that she spent so much time with. He could put up with it when she HAD to spend time with him but now that she was done with school what was she doing with him?

"How many Charlies do you think I know? Dr. Charles Eppes"

"Oh" Orlando's voice died

"What does that mean?" Again a look from Charlie but this time it wasn't one of amusement and/or curiosity

"Nothing. Just surprised that's who your with"

"Excuse me Charlie" Amita said standing up from the table. Charlie nodded knowing that this was mostly likely serious "Why are you surprised?" Amita said as she reached the bathroom

"Someone as beautiful as you spending time with a dork like him"

"Excuse me? Who are you to talk?"

"Are you actually telling me that I'm a dork like him! He has no social skills, loses himself in a math world, worships his brother, and still lives at home with father"

"Who are you? What did you do with Orlando?"

"It's still me baby. Why don't you ditch that dork and come home to me?"

"Ew. No"

"Did you just tell me no? No one tells me no"

"I can see why you can't hang onto a girlfriend"

"That's it! I'm not standing for this, either you ditch that dork or we're through"

"Then we're through"

"Thank God! I was only with you cause I thought you were easy! Now I can go after some sexy skinny blonde" Orlando yelled into the phone before hanging up. Amita just stared at the phone for a moment while the words sank in. Then she started to cry. She knew that she couldn't stay in the bathroom crying so she made up to her mind to ask Charlie if they could leave.

"How did- Amita what's wrong?" Charlie said standing up and rushing to Amita's side after seeing her tears

"I-I-got into a fight with-with Orlando. He's such an ass. Can we just go now?" Amita asked between tears

"Of course" Charlie said running back to the table gathering their stuff and dropping the money it cost for their dinner and tip onto the table. He put an arm around Amita and led her out to the car. When they reached the car, he put Amita in the backseat and climbed in the other side. He couldn't drive and until Amita calmed down she couldn't drive either

"I'm so-so sorry Charlie" Amita said sitting next to Charlie, embarrassed at him seeing her this upset

"Don't worry Amita. What- what happened?" Charlie asked hesitatingly

"He-he wanted to know why I was with you. Called you a d-dork. I yelled at him cause it wasn't like him or at least I thought it wasn't lik-like him. He said ditch yo-you or we're through so I said that we were through. He said thank God cause he only went out with me cause he thought-thought I was easy and he said now he could go out with a sexy skinny blonde" As Amita finished she collapsed into another fit of tears and Charlie pulled her to next to him and put an arm around her

"It's ok. Ignore him. You don't want to be with a guy like him"

"I just thought he was nice. Guess I was wrong. How could I have been so stupid!" Amita said yelling at herself

"Amita look at me" Charlie commanded turning her head lightly with his hand so she would look at him. He gently wiped away a tear "You are brilliant but you made a slight miscalculation. You ARE beautiful and you ARE skinny" he added with a laugh. Amita looked at him long and hard, took a deep breath and kissed him, but it lasted only a second

"Oh my God!" Amita said pulling back and shrinking to the other side of the car. _I can't believe I just did that. How stupid can I get!_

"Amita-" Charlie said taking her hand pulling her back to him. He looked her in the eyes and kissed her back. Softly, sweetly, and shortly. Amita was shocked but happy. She couldn't stop crying though. Charlie knew that what words he couldn't speak in the restaurant were said in those kisses. He knew that she needed him to just be there, so he pulled he in a tight embrace, Amita rested her head. Amita cried herself into a sweet dream. Charlie slipped out his phone, called and told Don what had happened, and sat there holding her till Don came to take them home.

**Author's note:** I had someone reread it cause I wrote this a little late at night, and the chief criticism was not spelling, grammar, or punctuation (surprisingly). It was why did Amita cry? Well I don't want to explain it right here, so I'll write it into the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Amita woke up slightly disoriented. When she opened her eyes, it wasn't her room she was looking at. It was Charlie's. She went to roll out of bed when she felt a tug at her waist. Looking down she saw Charlie's arms wrapped around her waist. A smile played across her face. The sun was shining, she could smell the coffee rising up the stairs and she knew everything was going to be ok. So, she took a deep breath and relaxed against Charlie. She inhaled his smell (some cologne and dove soap), got her breathing in sinc with his and soon fell back into a peaceful sleep.

"Should I wake them up now?" Don said looking at the clock. It was ten thirteen and Don needed to be back at the office and he needed to take Charlie with him. The fraud case was still going on and they needed to be Charlie back in the office with the equation on the off chance it needed to be reworked

"Give them until ten thirty" Alan said looking at the clock

"No its ok, we're awake" Charlie said walking down the stairs followed very closely by Amita. Don wondered why until he saw that they were holding hands

"I hope that you guys are in the mood for bacon and eggs" Alan said from the front of the stove

"Couldn't sound better" Amita said smiling brushing hair out of her face

"Good and call me Alan"

"Ok" Amita said settling into a chair. She was still in a very nice haze after waking up in the arms of Charlie

"Did you two have a good sleep?" Don asked trying (and failing) to keep the smile off of his face. Charlie was about to hit him, but Amita was closer "Ow!" Everyone just laughed

"Seriously though, did you have a good rest Amita? I know you were a little upset last night" Alan asked serving breakfast and sitting down with a concerned look in his eyes

"I'm ok now" Amita said giving a warm smile the all the Eppes men (and a gentle squeeze to Charlie's hand)

"Amita, if you don't mind me asking, why were you so upset? He seems like an ass and didn't you only go out on one date?" Don asked tentatively, while not looking her in the eyes

"Well, that's the thing. He didn't seem like an ass. I didn't just pick him up at a bar. He was Mary's old friend and we knew each other for three months before we started going out. I thought I knew him a little better than that. I was upset because he used me, he insulted Charlie and me. All those tears weren't just painful tears, if that's the right word. Some were anger. Anger at him for being an ass, anger for using me, anger for making fun of someone I care about" Amita stole a glance at Charlie "Anger for not seeing through his plan"

"Well now you don't have to worry about him" Charlie said giving Amita a hug and sending shivers down her spine

"Thank you Charlie. You too Don for driving us home and Alan for letting me stay the night and driving my car home"

"You are more then welcome" Alan replied, Don just smiled and waved her off

"So Don what brings you here this fine early morning, or did you never leave?" Charlie asked starting to eat his food. In doing so he hesitantly let go off Amita's hand realizing it would be easier to eat with two hands

"I never left. I kinda crashed after picking you guys up. Though I've stayed here this late, much to the dismay of my supervisor, to take you guys to the office" Alan realizing that they were going to start shop talk, excused himself to go play golf with his friends

"But-" Charlie started looking greatly confused

"Amita has clearance and no, it's not equation that messed up. It's the suspects. According to their own pattern they were supposed to strike yesterday but I had all the man power I could get watching the area the equation predicted and nothing"

"Maybe-maybe the equation was off by a bit?" Amita suggested softly. She didn't want to anger Charlie but as looked into his eyes she could see the battle. Numbers were never wrong to Charlie but it was a very probable that the equation was wrong and that's why they didn't catch him

"I don't think the equation's off, I think they just realized that we were getting close so they switched their pattern up" Seeing the look on Charlie's face killed Don so he decided he'd tell Charlie what else he did "Charlie, buddy, it wasn't the equation. I- I set up a safety net. If anything suspicious that fit their MO turned up, I would have been contacted"

"That's great! Now we know they didn't strike" Charlie said taking it the way Don prayed he would've. To be honest he thought Charlie might have been mad because it might have come across that Don didn't trust his math after all this time

"I guess now we just have to wait, but like I said I want you two to come into the office, in case we need you"

"Sure, I can go. Can you?" Charlie answered then turned to Amita

"Let me think" Amita ran through what she had to do for today. Just run over some equations for Larry "I'm pretty sure. I just need to pick up some equations for Larry from my apartment. I promised him that I would work on them for him. It wouldn't a problem for me to work on them there would it?"

"I don't see why it would be a problem. As soon as Charlie's ready to go we'll leave"

"Ok. I'll be right back, let me just get dressed-" Charlie said standing up from the table, putting his dish in the sink and then bounding up the stairs two at a time. Amita smiled watching him. Don couldn't but grin at her open feelings for him. Amita looked back at her food and found that Don was smiling

"What?" Amita said flushing

"You really love him don't you?" Don asked very seriously

Amita looked up at the staircase, paused and then answered, "Yes, I do love him". After another thirty seconds, Charlie came bounding down the stairs to find Don giving Amita a hug and Amita smiling brightly

"Am interrupting something? Cause I can come back…" Charlie jokingly stated while turning around slowly

"No, you weren't interrupting anything. Now off to the office" Don said, standing. Amita followed suit as she walked towards the door to get her jacket. As Charlie passed though Don whispered "Hold on to her Charlie"

"What?" Charlie asked confused but Don was already his way out the door.

Not that good of a chapter but it was written in a very scattered way. What I mean is normally I sit down and write three quarters of the story one day and then finish it off another but this one was written over four separate days in very random spurts. Anyway, I done with finals (OMG I'M A SENIOR NOW!) so I'll hopefully have some more time for writing, if the hospital doesn't get in the way


	19. Chapter 19

Sorry this chapter took so long, I got writer's block and last week of school is filled with tears, as I must say goodbye to my seniors (but saying goodbye includes partying)

Piccolo Chic: I'm volunteering at the hospital, and no I don't believe it'll get in the way but even if it somehow gets REALLY crazy, I'll still find time to write

Chapter 19

Don followed Charlie and Amita in Amita's car to her apartment. Amita ran upstairs and no doubt divulged the whole night's events to Mary. When Amita went upstairs, Charlie got into Don's car (for he was going to drive them to the office and back to the house for dinner). As Charlie stared out the window after Amita, Don looked at his brother. His face glowed, his posture was straighter, and his eyes sparkled.

_Charlie really loves her_ "Charlie?" Don called softly

"Yeah" Charlie said turning

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course"

"Do you love her?" Don asked staring at his brother. Charlie turned back to look out the window and, thought long about that question. He obviously liked her, but was love the right word? An unknown emotion took over Charlie's eyes as he answered

"Yes. I do love her"

"Good. You can't tell her I told you but I asked her the same thing this morning and she said that she loved you too"

Charlie just looked stunned "She-she said she loved me?"

"Yes. She did. She watched you run up the stairs, stared at the spot where you disappeared from sight for thirty seconds or so, then turned back to me. I saw the look in her eyes, it was the same look you had staring out that window. I asked her if she loved you and she said yes" Charlie just sat there in silence for a moment absorbing it all

"I can't believe it Don. She loves me. She said that she loves me. Don-"

"I know buddy, I know"

"SHE LOVES ME!" Charlie said yelling, happiness lighting ever corner of his face, and giving Don the biggest hug he thinks he might have ever received from his brother

"Woah buddy!" Don said returning the hug "Scream a little louder I don't think Amita heard you in her apartment"

"Don I'm sitting in the back, I have to be close to hear" Charlie sat there, waiting for approval from his brother

"Why are you waiting? I'm not stopping you" Don answered and then laughed as his brother scrambled and climbed into the backseat without getting out of the car. After another moment Amita came downstairs and was slightly surprised that Charlie was in the backseat. She was even more surprised that when the second she got her seatbelt on he kissed her

"What was that for?" She asked slightly blushing. She still wasn't used to Charlie expressing his feelings

"Being you"

"Oh, ok" Amita said smiling and giving him a quick kiss back.

Don just grinned; they reminded him of what he and Terry were like when they had first started dating in the academy. The ride was spent in relative silence, but that was only because Charlie wasn't talking up a storm like he normally does. Instead he was quite content with stroking Amita's back while she rested her head on his chest. Don pulled into the lot and the three traveled up to the bullpen. Don enjoyed seeing that Charlie and Amita had somehow joined hands, despite Amita carrying a laptop and a few notebooks, and Charlie carrying his own laptop, a map of the city he worked with when he was home, and notebooks of his own.

"Hi Charlie…and Amita" Terry added quickly seeing Amita trailing after Charlie. She noted their hands with an inward grin and a quick glance at Don

"Hi Terry" said Amita walking over to Terry and giving her a hug (to the best of her ability that is)

"How are you?" Terry asked giving Amita a warm hug. Something definitely happened last night. She would have to ask casually later

"I'm good" Amita leaned in and whispered "I have to tell you how our date went" Terry was surprised for a spilt second that Terry knew about the date but then realized that she could probably tell that Charlie some help on his outfit last night

"Ok, how about we 'go to the bathroom' in about a half an hour?" Terry arranged

"Meet you there" Amita said laughing

"What was that about?" Charlie asked as she rejoined him walking to the conference room

"Woman stuff" She looked over at Charlie and she that he had blushed slightly. She knew he would. She knew what he was thinking and she let him

"Oh. So what are you working on for Larry?" Charlie asked placing his books and laptop on the conference table then moving to hang up his map

"Homology, Cohomology, and Homotopy of black holes"

"Sounds like fun" Charlie said stepping away from the map, surveying it to see how straight it was. It was straight enough so he moved to the table to look for the right notebook and the file on the fraud case

"Its not that bad, well at least I don't think it is…yet. I haven't gotten that far into it"

"Well, I won't keep you from your work. If you get bored or need a change of pace, you know how to drag me away from my work, or you could indeed help on the case" Charlie said picking up the notebook he was looking for, walked over to Amita, gave her a quick kiss, then set to work at the whiteboards. He was lost to his math world in a minute.

"Now, lets see what I got myself into" Amita said to herself opening up the notebooks, praying it wasn't going to be TOO boring

Again guys I'm so sorry that took so long. For some reason I just hit a mental roadblock, but hopefully I have gotten past that


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Amita got up from the table and opened her mouth to excuse herself and realized that Charlie wouldn't hear her excuse herself if she had a bullhorn. As she closed the door to the conference room behind her, she heard Terry's voice excuse herself to take a short coffee break. Don asked for a cup too which meant that the "accidental" simultaneous use of the bathroom now had to be a legitimate trip to get coffee. Amita went into the bathroom, waited another moment, and then Terry entered

"Amita-" Terry started

"I heard. I don't have any money though" Amita said opening the other door to the bathroom which would be a more direct path to elevators

"Don't worry, I'll spot you the dollar fifty for a cup of coffee"

"Thanks"

"Ok, so are you going to tell me what happened on this date or should I wait until we get a table?"

"Let's wait. I want to give you a full description, and it'll be easier to just wait"

"See now I'm REALLY curious" Terry said stepping off of the elevator. The two women walked down to the café around the corner from the building. As they stepped through the door they noticed that it was oddly quiet, empty. Normally this café is bustling with people.

"Terry-" Amita started

"I know" Terry answered back, her hand going to her waist holster. She drew the gun and walked further into the café. When she turned past the booth she saw about twenty people cowering in the corner. It hit her that she and Amita had just walked into a robbery.

"Ah good more hostages" A man with a black ski mask said standing up from behind the counter

"Freeze!" Terry yelled at the man who was seemingly unarmed

The man just smiled as one his partners snuck up behind Terry and hit her on the head with the butt of his gun. Her world went black.

"Hey buddy, how's it going?" Don said entering the conference room. He watched as Charlie went from one board to another. He was going to call him again when he saw Charlie hold up a finger signaling that he was going to be done in a moment. When Charlie's marker stopped squeaking he stepped back to survey his work, made a number clearer, and then sat down across from Don.

"I think I've fixed any problem that could have happened because of the equation"

"Charlie I told you that we had a larger area covered. If any other place had been hit-"

"We would have known" Charlie finished for him

"Don't worry, we'll get them" Don paused a moment and then asked, "Where's Amita?"

"The bathroom, I'm assuming"

"You mean she didn't tell you where she was going?"

"Well I heard her get up and leave, I just assumed if she were going anywhere major, as in leaving the building, she would have told me"

"I think she might have gone to get coffee with Terry"

"Oh. Ok" Charlie said closing his eyes, and leaning his head and chair back

"Charlie?"

"Yeah"

"Would you have by any chance remembered when Amita left? Because I know that Terry went to get coffee and I think that was thirty minutes ago and I don't think that Terry would have been gone this long if she didn't have someone with her"

"I guess it could have been a half an hour ago. Wait, Terry left thirty minutes ago to get coffee?"

"Yeah"

"I don't like how this sounds" Charlie said tilting forward in his chair

"Oh come on you're being paranoid. The girls probably went for coffee together. Terry is no doubt trying to get details about the date and I'm sure Amita is indulging her by giving her a very detailed response"

"I don't know…" Charlie said worry clearly on his face

"Would you feel better if I called Terry?"

"Yes I would"

"Fine" Don pulled out his cell phone and pushed two on his speed dial. It rang five times before someone picked up "Hello? Terry?"

"Ah finally someone calls for the missing agent" Answered the masked man

"Who is this?" Don asked his voice growing cold. His face however betrayed his true emotion-worry. Charlie's head shot up at the sound of Don's voice, and he frowned as his eyes clouded with concern

"That's not important. What is important is that I have your partner's life in my hands and I need something from you"

"You son of a-"

"Tisk tisk, agent…"

"Eppes. Special agent Don Eppes" Don answered spitting out the words. Charlie was now at his side trying to hear the other side of the conversation

"Well agent, I would not go around making threats or doing anything that would anger me, considering I hold your dear Terry's life in my hands"

"Let her go" Don said with an anger in his voice that Charlie had never heard, and hoped to never hear again

"Uh oh, did I hit a nerve? I'm sorry agent I forgot that you were involved at one point"

"How did you-?"

"Not important. What is important is that you stop trying to find me. I didn't kill anyone, dear agent, just took a few dollars from a few accounts-"

"Too many accounts and too many times!" Don shouted, standing up banging his fist on the table, almost knocking Charlie backwards "You stole money from those people's account albeit a few dollars. You drew money constantly, so that their savings trickled away"

"As I said agent, I never killed anyone…well yet that is"

Don held back words that he knew if he had said, would have cost him Terry's life "What do you want?" Don said struggling not to do anything irrational

"You don't listen very well when you're angry do you? I told you I want to be left alone. You stop investigating and I'll disappear. I'll leave LA, California even. I won't be your problem anymore"

"I can't let you do that and you know it"

"Then I can't let her go"

"Wait-" Don shouted into the phone. A click and a dial tone were all that he got as an answer

Dun-Dun-Dun…sorry…Ok so there's a twist in the story. I thought I'd add some drama besides the average 'he doesn't like me' :falls dramatically onto the bed: I might be adding some Don and Terry relationship into this, I still haven't quite decided.

Review some more, I'll write some more


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

A hand covered Amita's mouth as she tried to warn Terry about the man in the ski mask sneaking up on her. She watched in horror as Terry was stuck by the butt of the gun, and then fell limply to the floor. She struggled against the man but as soon as she felt the cold metal of the man's gun pressed against the nape of her neck, she stopped. The man roughly pushed her towards the rest of the hostages and waved his gun at her, signaling to sit with them. The two men walked to the side of the third man who was standing behind the counter.

"Joe, what do you want me to do with this one?" The man wearing the red shirt posed to Joe while gesturing to Terry

"Get her wallet, find out who she is. There must be a legit reason why she had a gun" The man in the red shirt walked over to the unconscious Terry and patted her down. He quickly found her wallet and his eyes widened when he found her FBI ID.

"JOE!" The man in the red shirt called

"What do you want Doug?"

"Joe, she's a fed" He responded attempting to throw the ID to Joe but hit his other accomplice "Sorry Jack" Jack just rolled his eyes, took a quick look at the ID then handed it to Joe

"This…this is better then I could have even planned" Joe said his eyes lighting up. Amita looked up and was curious at why her ID could have caused him joy instead of the expected fear of realizing that you're holding captive a FBI agent

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. He was getting a little nervous. He hated the idea of the robbery, and then holding people hostage? He had no clue how he got involved with this. He was just a computer geek, not one to get involved with the human aspect of this operation

"I knew that at least one fed was going to walk into the café. Its unavoidable, we're in a two-minute walking distance of their headquarters. I know her. We were friends when we were younger. We left for separate colleges, a few years later I heard though my mother talking to her mother that she now worked in the FBI. Another few years later I heard she was dating a guy named Don Eppes. A little hacking into the system told me that they're partners now and assigned to our case"

Amita's nervousness increased at how much this man seemed to know. She didn't know much about law enforcement and hostage situations but she knew that the captors having this information and Terry to boot was definitely not a good thing.

"Do we know who that is?" Doug gestured to Amita. Amita felt her pulse quicken

"I don't know. She came in with the fed" Jack answered

"You" Joe said pointing to her "Come over here nice and slow" Amita stood and walked over slowly, keeping a watchful eye on Terry. She hadn't even made a move since he hit her and she didn't like that

"Yes?" Amita said addressing Joe as bravely as she could

"What's your name?"

"Amita Ramanujan" She answered trying to stare him down

"How do you know her?" He asked, showing Amita that her efforts were in vain

Amita hesitated. She didn't know whether or not to tell the truth. She figured that lying would make it worse were they to find out but she would tell as little truth, without lying, as possible "I'm a friend of hers. I'm a professor at college. We hadn't seen each other in awhile and I have a project to work on, so I went into her office" Not lying but not the full truth

"She could be helpful too" Joe said smiling (who he was talking to neither Jack or Doug knew)

"Let me help her" Amita said bravely gesturing to Terry

"Why should I?" Joe's eyes suddenly clouded over with an emotion that Amita couldn't quite place but she knew she didn't like it

"You said you knew her partner dated her while they were at the academy. Well I'm also a friend of her partner's. I know that he still loves her. I also know that he will not take kindly to the fact that she got injured, especially if I can't get her to wake up"

Joe's faced contorted with thought. He knew that Amita had a point. He may be dealing with feds he knew something about (i.e. their feelings being more then just protectiveness over their partner), but that didn't change the fact that he was dealing with feds. On the other hand he didn't like the way that woman was making him look. So he came to what he thought was a reasonable solution- he backhanded Amita so that she fell next to Terry

"Don't be getting cocky. Remember we're the ones that have the guns" He spat at her

Amita just looked stunned, raising her hand to her check, feeling the sting of his hand. She recovered quickly though to check on Terry. She had a nasty cut of the back of her head from where the gun had collided with it, it was bleeding badly but then most head wounds do. She made an effort to note how much blood was flowing so she would notice if it slowed or not. Terry's pulse was a little slow, as well as her breathing but that was to be expected, she would only have to worry if both got much slower. Amita had just gotten a napkin off the table to place under Terry's head when her phone rang. If it hadn't been so loud the men wouldn't have heard it but it was and Joe snapped his fingers and Amita knew to bring him the phone. She unfortunately only heard Joe's side of the conversation

"Ah finally someone calls for the missing agent…That's not important. What is important is that I have your partner's life in my hands and I need something from you...Tisk tisk, agent-...Well agent, I would not go around making threats or doing anything that would anger me, considering I hold your dear Terry's life in my hands...Uh oh, did I hit a nerve? I'm sorry agent I forgot that you were involved at one point...Not important. What is important is that you stop trying to find me. I didn't kill anyone, dear agent, just took a few dollars from a few accounts-...As I said agent, I never killed anyone…well yet that is...You don't listen very well when you're angry do you? I told you I want to be left alone. You stop investigating and I'll disappear. I'll leave LA, California even. I won't be your problem anymore...Then I can't let her go" And he hung before, presumably cutting Don off

"Why did you do that? She's a major dealing chip" Doug asked. Hearing that Amita had to restrain herself from running across and punching him. As she restrained herself though, a thought (rather a person) crossed her mind - Charlie. He must have been wondering where she was, and odds are he figured she was with Terry. She figured it was Don that had called, and she knew that Charlie had to have been next to him

"What's with her?" Jack asked gesturing to Amita

Amita snapped back to reality and answered "Nothing. Just worried about Terry"

"You're lying" Joe stated in a cool tone. He wasn't accusing her, he was stating a fact "I saw the look on your face when you saw she was still out. That look was different"

"I'm not allowed to go into a daze? This doesn't happen to me very often and I was merely processing everything"

"Not the whole truth" Joe said again "It had something to do with this phone call" Amita didn't answer and she knew that she had just inadvertently given them something she didn't want them to know- there was someone out there she was worried about "Uh oh, do you have a secret?"

"No. I'm just worried about how all of this is going to go down"

"Ok. Sure, Amita, was it?"

Amita just gave a curt nod and turned her focus back to Terry. Her bleeding had slowed down to the extent that in another moment or two it would stop completely. She checked her pulse and then her breathing and found that they had both returned too normal. She smiled, feeling that Terry was going to be ok. Her joy however was interrupted when her phone rang.


	22. Chapter 22

Wow I can't believe that I'm on chapter twenty-two, granted a few of them were short, but I never thought it'd be this long. It's only this long cause of all the reviews I got, I knew I couldn't just end it. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing

Chapter 22

"Don!" Charlie yelled after his older brother as he ran out of the room

"DAVID!" Don called for another member of his team, his second partner, David Sinclair

"What is it?" David started to answer smartly (he disliked being bothered in the middle of paperwork) but his voice immediately changed to have a tone of concern seeing the look on Don's face and his brother trailing not to far behind wearing a similar look

"Terry's being held captive at the café down the block, and Amita is most likely with her"

"What!" David exclaimed standing up "How-? When-?"

"Terry went to get coffee a half an hour ago. I checked in with Charlie and found that Amita wasn't here either. I told Charlie that Terry's been gone for a while and that I wanted to know if Amita was with her. Charlie didn't like that Terry was taking that long to get coffee so he insisted I called her. Thank god I did. The guy in charge, I'm assuming, picked up the phone and explained that he has her. Said he wanted us to leave him alone. Said that if we'd stop, he'd leave California and he wouldn't be our problem anymore. I said that he knew I can't do that, and he said then I knew he can't let her go and hung up" Don finished exhausted and collapsed into a chair next to David and shut his eyes. Charlie stayed standing, though he was hardly standing still

"What about Amita?" David questioned

Don's eyes flew open in horror. How had he forgotten to ask about Amita? "Oh Charlie I'm so sorry"

"For what?" Charlie stopped moving, realizing that someone was talking to him

"For not finding out if Amita was with Terry"

"It's ok. I trust her to fend for herself, if she is indeed with Terry. I'll call her myself cause we don't even know if she's with Terry" Charlie said pulling out his cell phone. Don noted that Charlie was repeating himself. He knew that Charlie was trying to convince himself that Amita was not with Terry.

"Ok buddy. Do you want to use the office phone?"

"Su-sure" Charlie stuttered. He reached for the phone, hand shaking. The phone rang about five times before a shaky voice answered

"H-hello?" Amita answered. Joe ordered her to answer the phone then put it on speaker

"Oh Amita thank God you're ok. Where are you?" Charlie asked not bothering to keep the fear out of his voice

"I'm with Terry Charlie" Amita answered as bravely as possible.

"Oh Amita" Charlie said sounding on the brink of tears

"Don't worry about me"

"I can't help it Amita" Charlie told Amita clutching the phone as if he held it tight enough she could feel it on the other end. Neither of them knew what to say so it stayed silent. Charlie looked around and saw Don and it kicked started the idea that he should ask Amita how Terry's doing "Amita" Charlie practically whispered

"Yes" Amita answered on the brink of tears herself

"How's Terry?" Don ran to Charlie's side at the mention of Terry's name

"She's doing ok. She has a nasty head cut and her pressure and breathing were a little slow before but they're back to normal. I think she'll wake up in a few minutes"

"That's good" Charlie said. He looked at Don and found his body showed relief, while his eyes anger

"Charlie I have to go. Terry's waking up" Amita said noticing her friend stirring in her lap. She was going to say goodbye when Joe called at her to give her the phone

"Who was that?" Charlie asked as Amita stood to give him the phone

"Someone that wants to talk to you apparently" Amita said quickly before handing the phone over to Joe

"Hello Charlie" Joe said into the phone smiling, a gesture that made Amita want to gag

"Who is this?" Charlie asked anger starting to creep into his voice

"What is it with you and your brother needing to know who I am? That's not important. I understand that you're the one that came up with a complex equation to trace my actions"

"That's right. We've caught you" Charlie said looking pleased. Don (who was now virtually on top of Charlie in attempt to hear the other side of the conversation) looked proudly at his brother, but a little fear was shining in his eyes. He wasn't too comfortable with Charlie being so cocky with the man that holds the lives of the women they love in his hands

"A little sure of yourself?" Joe cocked an eyebrow. He had heard of Charles Eppes. He's been a genius of mathematics from birth but he's also a little socially inept, and not one to confront emotions, especially emotions that dealt with the people he loves getting hurt.

"A little. This is the FBI, not the LAPD. They have resources everywhere. If you run they will find"

"SHUT UP! Do you want me to kill them both!"

All the blood from Charlie's face drained away at the image his mind had seemingly created "No, I want them both back safe"

"Then do as I say. Leave me alone. Me and my men will leave California, and you won't follow"

"You know we can't do that"

"Then I can't guarantee their safety anymore" Charlie heard a shot go off, Amita screamed, and then the line went dead. Charlie looked at Don in horror and then collapsed into short sobs knowing that the woman he loves, the woman he finally admitted his feelings for, might possibly be dying and he can't do anything to stop it.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Amita was frustrated that after she handed Joe the phone, he turned the speakerphone option off so again she was forced to only hear Joe's side of the conversation.

"Hello Charlie…What is it with you and your brother needing to know who I am? That's not important. I understand that you're the one that came up with a complex equation to trace my actions…A little sure of yourself?… SHUT UP! Do you want me to kill them both!…" Amita saw him pull out his gun. She started praying that she and Terry would be safe "Then do as I say. Leave me alone. Me and my men will leave California, and you won't follow…Then I can't guarantee their safety anymore" Time slowed down as she realized that he was going to shoot Terry. She made the spilt second decision to protect Terry. The gun fired and Amita screamed as the bullet lodged in her shoulder. She had never felt pain so intense. She looked at her t-shirt and saw that it was already beginning to saturate with blood. She was brought back from her world of pain when Terry stirred in her lap.

"Ow…" Terry murmured trying to sit up. Amita put her hand on Terry's chest forcing her back down

"Terry just lie still" Amita said through gritted teeth. She never thought that getting shot would hurt THIS much

"What happened?" Terry asked putting her hand to her throbbing head

"Remember we were going to meet in the bathroom to talk about my date? You told Don you were getting coffee, and he asked for some, so then we really did have to go get coffee. We walked down to the café…"

"…and there was a hostage situation!" Terry yelled sitting up abruptly. Her head pounded, she got dizzy, and her vision was blurred for a moment but then it cleared. Her head still hurt, and she was still dizzy so she leaned against Amita, which caused her to elicit a VERY loud yell

"**OW!**" Amita yelled as Terry leaned on her bad shoulder. Terry sat up quickly again and turned to see what had caused her friend to yell out in pain. It was then that she noticed the gunshot wound to her left shoulder

"Oh my god Amita! I am so sorry! " Terry exclaimed looking at her shoulder, she noted the amount of blood "Amita it's a through and through we're going to have to get you to the emergency room"

Amita smiled as words from a long time ago came to her lips "Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch…No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve: ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world…A plague o' both your houses! They have made worms' meat of me: I have it, And soundly too: your houses!" Amita didn't think she would remember those lines from Romeo and Juliet, after all she did learn them in high school. Doug, Joe and Jack all looked at each other, afraid that maybe the blood loss had affected her grip on reality. Terry however noticed what she had recited.

"Romeo and Juliet? Never pictured you one to recite Shakespeare. The numbers in pie maybe, but not Romeo and Juliet"

"We…we did it in school. There weren't enough guys to play all the parts, so I was cast as Mercutio. It was my hardest scene. I apparently didn't sound like I was angry enough or something. I don't remember the cause, but the effect was acting it out at least five times every time we did the act" She was babbling. She knew it. It was something to do other then focus on her shoulder

"You an actress, I never imagined" Terry said joking with Amita. She knew that her shoulder was in pain and with that knowledge she was trying to distract her. Amita opened her mouth to tell Terry about her "acting" career when Joe interrupted them

"Hey girls, this isn't social hour! Shut up! You-" He pointed to Terry "- call back your friend Don. Tell him that I want to talk to him"

"Sure" Terry answered looking slightly unsure and sounding even less. Amita tried to figure out why. She was trained to be in this situation, she would NEVER show herself as being unsteady

"Terry" Amita whispered. Terry had started to dial but slowed as she heard her friend trying to get her attention

"Yeah"

"What was that?"

"He sounds…familiar" Terry answered then turned her attention back to the phone as it stopped ringing. Terry mercifully had put on the speakerphone option

"Terry?" Don answered his voice sounding an inch from being frantic

"Hi Don"

"Oh thank god you're ok. How's your head?"

"How did you-" Terry started

"Amita called and told me. I'm just glad you're ok…however I think that you didn't call to just have a pleasant conversation"

"Always perceptive, agent Eppes" Joe called out. Don almost dropped the phone. He hadn't realized that he was on speakerphone

"Ready for negotiations?" Don asked as coolly as he could. He knew that his voice betrayed his feelings for Terry and that (the knowledge of his feelings) could be a very dangerous thing for those in charge of the hostage situation

"Yes. I want your little brother to hand over that equation he's working on. I have a mathematician of my own to decipher the equation so don't try to give me a fake one. I'll give you some time to think" Joe made a slashing motion at his neck, which Terry knew signaled her to hang up. She looked down at the phone wishing that she could comfort Don but knew that she couldn't talk, so she wished a silent goodbye to Don, told him to be strong in her head and hung up the phone.


	24. Chapter 24

Sorry about the Shakespeare in chapter 23…I know, I'm a dork

Chapter 24

Don jumped at the sound of the phone and was happy and nervous at the same time when he saw that Terry's name was on the screen of the caller ID

"Terry?" Don asked as if maybe it wasn't really her. Like she wasn't really calling and it was his mind playing tricks on him. The office went silent, so silent you could hear the other side of the conversation

"Hi Don" Terry answered.

Don breathed again knowing that for now she was safe "Oh thank god you're ok. How's your head?"

"How did you-" Terry started

"Amita called and told me. I'm just glad you're ok…however I think that you didn't call to just have a pleasant conversation" Don said almost sadly as he resigned to the fact that this was a hostage situation, not a chat as if Terry had just stayed home for the day

"Always perceptive, agent Eppes" Joe called out. Don almost dropped the phone. He hadn't realized that he was on speakerphone.

_If the office was quiet before_ David thought _you would think if a single sound was made then it would be hell on earth_

"Ready for negotiations?" Don asked as coolly as he could. He knew that his voice betrayed his feelings for Terry and that (the knowledge of his feelings) could be a very dangerous thing for those in charge of the hostage situation.

"Yes. I want your little brother to hand over that equation he's working on. I have a mathematician of my own to decipher the equation so don't try to give me a fake one. I'll give you some time to think" The line was open for another moment, then a click and a dial tone. Don stared at the phone a moment and then hung up.

"What are we going to do?" Charlie asked hesitantly. He knew that they couldn't give him the equation but he also knew that because they had Terry Don wasn't going to treat this like a normal hostage situation, no matter how hard he tries

"I don't know. We obviously can't give them the equation because that's the key to stopping them. If we don't, I don't know safe the women will be. Let us not forget that there are most likely other hostages" Charlie's eyes widened at the last part. How had he been so foolish as to not think that there were other people in danger?

"I suppose that we can give him the equation, I can memorize it or save all my work. He never said anything about handing over my notes, just the equation right?" Don looked up at his brother. Charlie thought he said something wrong until he saw a smile break across his face

"No, he never said anything about your notes. Now, how fast can you get the equation back to, I guess, functioning form with just your notes?"

"No longer then a half hour" Charlie said tentatively, afraid that wouldn't be fast enough

"That's amazing Charlie. Let me clear releasing the equation, if he calls back tell him that I just need to get approval from my boss to hand him the equation" Don clapped Charlie on the back, handed him his cell phone and then rushed off beaming

"Do you really think they'll give him the equation?" Amita asked Terry quietly. Her shoulder pain seemed to have dulled a little, but only a little

"I honestly don't know. I know Don wouldn't hand it over in a normal hostage situation"

"But…"

"But this isn't a normal hostage situation. With Charlie there, and the both of us involved I somehow doubt that this is going to be treated normally" Terry turned to face Amita and was frightened at how paled her friend had become "Amita, how are you?"

"My shoulder hurts like hell and I'm a little cold but nothing I can't handle" Amita replied forcing out a laugh but Terry could see in her eyes how scared she was. They fell silent, neither not knowing what to say. Amita had actually contemplated telling her about the date but seeing as they were in the middle of a hostage situation. Soon the men took up to talking

"What do you plan to do if they don't give you the equation? Are you really going to kill all these people especially an FBI agent?" Jack asked. Hacking never killed anyone. He never signed up to be part of a hostage situation let alone a killing spree

"They'll give the equation to me. Don loves Terry and I'm pretty certain Charlie loves Amita, so I'm pretty sure they're not going to do anything stupid that's going to get the women they love killed"

"Are you sure? Something tells me that the director isn't going to approve them handing us the equation. And by the way, I've heard of Charlie Eppes there is no way I'm going to able to tell if the equation is going to do what it says"

"It doesn't matter as long as they think that you can"

"Whatever" Jack said turning away. He didn't like this and he wanted to get the hell away from here. From Joe. _As soon as this is over_ he swore to himself _I'm going to tell Joe that he needs to find another hacker because I'm through with this. I just hope he doesn't shoot me._ Terry watched this exchange and made a mental note to pass this information on to the Don and the rest of the team. However, it still was nagging at her that she knew the person that the voice of Joe belonged to she just couldn't remember who it was. Terry closed her eyes and let her FBI training kick in. She knew that she was going to have to start negotiating to get the other hostages out.

"Hey Joe" Terry called out and stood up

"She speaks. Yes Agent Lake?"

"Let the other hostages go. No need to let innocent people get caught in the crossfire" Terry said using her interrogation voice. Joe looked up at her, than turned to look at Jack and Doug. Jack had already expressed his weariness about having hostages and Doug was guarding the other hostages and they looked terrified. There were old ladies here for a cup of tea, and a little girl with ice cream. Joe's eyes surprisingly softened as he looked at Terry

"Ok I'll let them go but you and Amita have to stay" Joe answered

"Keep just me, Amita needs medical attention" Terry said firmly. Any sympathy in Joe's eyes vanished

"You and her stay. If both of you don't stay then they all stay" Terry opened her mouth but Amita Interrupted her

"Let them go, I'll stay" Amita said with a slight chatter. Terry looked back and saw that Amita was most likely going into shock

"Amita-" Terry whispered concerned for her friend

"It's ok" Amita whispered back "Well, what are you waiting for? Let them go. That poor girl is scared to death" Amita gesturing to the little girl hiding under the booth. She had taken her place there after Amita was shot

"Ok, ok. Doug let them out" Doug was slightly surprised that Joe was actually letting the other hostages out but he shrugged at let them go. Terry breathed a sigh of relief, now setting her sights on getting Amita medical help. As she sat down to hold Amita, to keep her warm so shock won't set in, shesilently wished that this would all be over soon.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's note:** It has been brought to my attention by my mom (who reads the chapters as soon as I post them) that the story might have gotten a little choppy and hard to understand (I tend to forget that I know what I want to happen but no one can read my mind), so please if anyone is confused, leave a comment or email me and I'll answer any questions you guys have

Chapter 25

Don rushed back to the bullpen knowing that he was close to getting Terry and Amita back. As he waited for the elevator doors to open again he let himself REALLY think for the first time. They had a relationship in the academy and when it ended he admitted he still had feelings for her but then he met Kim. When he went back home and lost Kim, he thought he would miss her like he missed Terry but somehow the pain that he felt after losing her was different. He had loved Kim, that's why he had proposed but he had to admit that while they were dating, he had once in awhile imagined his life with Terry if they had gotten married and he liked the image. When he transferred back to LA and they became partners again he hated to admit it but he wanted to have their old relationship back. He still loved her and now there is a possibility that he might lose her. Anger flared as he thought of the cut that Amita had told him about. He was going to catch these men no matter what the cost. The doors opened and he stepped out and rushed to the bullpen.

"Do we have permission?" Charlie asked with fear and a little sarcasm. He felt ridiculous about asking permission to give away his own work especially work that would only take him a half hour to rewrite AND save two very important women.

"We do but only if you really can write it again in thirty minutes, Merrick doesn't want to risk letting them get too far"

"I can rewrite it quickly, I only wish there was a way to tag their movements"

"What do you mean?"

"Well we know that they're planning to leave the state. If only there was a way I could get them use an equation to break into a bunch of fake bank accounts. We could track where they are breaking in from and catch them"

"Why can't we do that?" David asked innocently

"Well because the equation we're giving them is like a map. It predicts where they are supposed to strike next. The equation will only help them by telling them where NOT to strike next. It doesn't help us track their actions"

"So make one up" Don said simply

"If only it were that easy. It's easy enough to write it. It's getting them to use it. Their mathematician will spot that the equation isn't for the use we said it was. We could logically tell them what it should be used for but then it will seem suspicious that the FBI is handing over an equation and telling them what to use it for" Everyone was silent for a moment and then Don jumped from the chair he sat down in as if he had been shot at

"I have an idea" Don exclaimed after he realized that everyone was staring at him

"Well tell us" Charlie responded impatiently

"Well its really a long shot but what if I could get Terry, or Amita for that matter, to convince them that they don't want the equation to find them, but that they want you to come up with an equation to hack into the computers faster then they can"

"That is so out there…its perfect" Charlie said smiling "I'll start work on it now" He stood up and started heading to the conference room

"But we don't have their demand for it or approval yet for that matter" Don said standing up and walking to catch him

"But I need time. When that little girl Emily was kidnapped I completed the algorithm relatively quickly but that was with the help of Amita and Eric. I don't have them now" Don looked hesitant. He was worried that this wouldn't work and then where would they all be?

"Ok, work on it" Don said letting Charlie continue his walk to the conference room "David, call Merrick and tell him about the change in plans" David panicked for a second. He had never liked talking to Merrick. He didn't know why there was just something he didn't like. He decided however to suck it up for Terry and Amita's sake

"Hello director Merrick?"

"Yes who am I speaking to?"

"Agent Sinclair"

"Agent Sinclair I'm surprised you're calling. Agent Eppes just left my office, is everything going ok?"

"Yes well there has been a change in the plan"

"A change?" Director Merrick asked as he sat forward. He was hesitant to give the suspects the equation and know they were going to change the plan?

"Well agent Eppes had a different-"

"Agent Eppes? Well then why isn't he on the phone?"

"He's busy at the moment" David turned to give Don the evil eye for sticking him with Merrick but the worry David saw in Don's eyes as he stared at the floor made him stop "He'll be back in a moment but the sooner we-"

"Well stop babbling and tell me the plan"

"Of course. What if we could get Agent Lake, or Amita-"

"Who is that?"

"Another hostage, she's a consultant that occasionally comes in with Dr. Charlie Eppes sir"

"She's working on this case as well?"

"No she wasn't working on the case"

"Can she be trusted being in the building while working on the case?" He didn't like this Amita being around classified information

"Yes sir she can be trusted, she has clearance from a previous consulting job but sir the plan…"

"Of course. I'm sorry, continue"

"What if we could get agent Lake, or Amita to convince them that they don't want the equation to find them, but that they want Dr. Eppes to come up with an algorithm to hack into the computers faster then they can"

"That's helping them Agent Sinclair! We can't do that" Merrick pointed out as if it were obvious

"Well then Dr. Eppes can track their movements with the algorithm. We have used this technique before"

"When?" He would have remembered

"In a kidnapping case. They kidnapped the child of a mathematician for the work he was doing. With the equation he solved you can hack into any Internet encrypted site. Dr. Eppes and Amita, created a false site with a false algorithm so we tracked them down and apprehended the suspects" David was tired of explaining and just wanted to get into action. These were two people he cared about not to mention other hostages who were in there too

"Ah I see" Merrick was silent for a moment and David was afraid that Merrick had hung up and he hadn't realized it until he heard the answer he was waiting for "Go ahead with the plan. Be careful and get Agent Lake back safe"

"We'll try sir. Thank you" David hung up the phone and breathed for what felt like the first time since the call had started. Don looked up from the floor as it registered in the back of his mind that the phone call had ended.

"What did he say?" Don said looking hopeful

"He said go ahead with the plan and to get Terry back safely" David said smiling. Don's face relaxed a little

"Ok. I'll tell Charlie to work fast on the problem, see if he needs help" David raised an eyebrow " Maybe call in another mathematician, to get it done faster, though I doubt they'd be able to keep up with him" He turned to walk to Charlie's conference room "Oh David, get all the computer techs that are available to come up with a series of fake bank accounts. We don't know who they're going to strike next but when they use the algorithm to hack into their accounts, they'll pull up one of these accounts"

"I'll get right on that" David answered practically running to the elevators. Don continued his walk to the conference room and then realized that he needed a team outside the café. Mentally kicking himself for not doing something so vital until now he turned to organize some agents that were free to be part of the team, though he knew once people found out it was an agent inside the café he would have line of people wanting to help.

I AM SO SORRY! I have no clue why this chapter to write and post. Things kept getting in the way and it seemed like whenever I sat to write, everything I wrote sucked. So I finally sat down to an empty, silent house and just wrote. I'll try to update faster. Thanks for sticking with my story.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"I'm done!" Charlie cried out triumphantly after working nonstop at an inhuman pace for an hour. Don looked up slightly startled. _I thought he said that he was going to take LONGER without Amita and Eric but I guess he had some incentive_

"That's great. Now we just have to see if we can get Terry to convince them this is what they really want"

"Shouldn't be too hard. Who easier to convince to use a algorithm to break into bank accounts then people guilty of bank fraud?" Charlie said sitting down. His mind which had only been filled with numbers a moment before, was now only filled with Amita

"Right. Ok, come on, I'm going to brief everyone who's helping on the case on what's going to happen next"

"Alright" Charlie answered standing up praying that he finished the equation in time. He followed Don and discovered that there was a very large number of people that were apparently waiting for them

"Ok people. Charlie finished the equation, does anyone know if the lab techs finished setting up the fake accounts?" Don called out into the group

"We're done" Drew answered. He was the one put in charge of arranging that aspect of the operation

"I have a question" A woman said raising her voice

"Yes" Don called out and everyone quieted down

"Well, I was curious on how the computer aspect is going to work. Charlie's algorithm has a tag on it so when its used we'll know. I want to know how setting up fake bank accounts is going to work. We don't where they're going to strike so how do we know what bank to model the page after?" Don nodded at Drew to answer

"You see they can enter into any bank they want but they don't know that page will look like. The code they're going to use from Charlie's algorithm will automatically open one of the pages, we have five, where there will be a large amount of money that isn't really there. They think that they're drawing out money. It'll say that it transferred the money and when they check it will say received but as soon as they close that window the money will be withdrawn and it'll be back where it started" Drew smiled at the mummers that he knew meant that the office was clearly impressed.

"Ok, now the plan is I'm going to text message Terry, telling her the plan and that if an alarm goes off and they ask say it was an alarm to remind her that she had a doctor's appointment. Charlie will do the same only he'll be texting Amita" Charlie raised his eyebrows. He didn't know that this was going to happen but better to get clearer instructions later "Everyone, talk to David about your assignments. I'll let you all know when something new happens" The group dispersed and the brothers walked back into the conference room. Don sat down and Charlie next to him. Both took out their phones. Both just stared at them as if to will the message to send itself.

"Don" Charlie called out softly. He was worried. He couldn't help but to replay the gunshot and scream he heard the last time the suspects had called

"Ok, so type this message: Amita, say this was an alarm reminding you that you had arranged to meet Larry and this was your reminder. Terry got a message saying to try to convince them that they want me to come up with an algorithm to make it easier to break into bank accounts. After you get this Terry will start a conversation go along with it the best you can" Don went silent trying to think if there was anything else "That's all I can think of. Feel free to add anything, but don't send it till I tell you to" Charlie nodded then silently added: be safe…I love you. It was hard typing those words but Amita needed them. Charlie wanted to look over at what Don had typed but he knew that there might be something on the message was to private for him to see

"I'm done" Charlie announced to the deafening silence. Don looked up at his brother and was saddened at the fear he saw in Charlie's eyes. He had heard the gunshot too but as much as he liked Amita it wasn't her he was overly worried about. He glanced down at his cell phone and back up at Charlie

"Ok. I'm going to send it and then fifteen minutes later you'll send yours" Don hit send and then looked up at the clock; four thirty an easy time to mark off another fifteen. They sat there in silence. Charlie turned his chair to face the board and checked and rechecked the equation. Although both he and Don knew that he wouldn't make any mistakes especially with what was on the line. The fifteen minutes seemed like forever but the time came and Charlie sent the message.

"Sent" Charlie said needlessly. The only thing left to do was wait.

Terry was watching Amita closely know. Amita's wound was not a minor one and the amount of blood was startling to her (Terry) and she was honestly surprised that Amita was still awake. Terry leaned over to check Amita's pulse on her wrist (to assure herself that the bullet hadn't made any damage to a major vein or artery, when her phone beeped. Terry looked down and saw it was a text message

"What was that?" Joe called out not even trying to hide the suspicion in his voice

"An alarm on my phone reminding me that I have, sorry HAD an appointment at the doctor's" Joe took a long look at her and then turned back to talking with Doug. Terry looked at the phone and smiled a little forgetting how much her and Don could be alike sometimes. _Terry, say that you had a doctor's appointment and this was your reminder. Terry, try to convince them that they want Charlie to come up with an algorithm to make it easier to break into bank accounts. Fifteen minutes after you get this Amita will get one too. Start a conversation; we've told her to go along with it the best she can. Terry we're going to have a team outside. Stay safe and, well, and I love you._ Terry almost dropped the phone at the end. Had Don really just said that he loved her? She had been waiting so long for those words and it seemed odd to be reading them. She looked up and saw the flashing lights. The team was arriving. She waited until a faint beep sounded from Amita's pocket. Joe and Doug stopped talking and looked down but Amita had her eyes closed and Terry was just watching her. When they looked away Amita opened her eyes and took the phone out of her pocket. She read the message and almost started to cry. Charlie said that he loved her. She held up a finger to Terry and typed a message back: _Charlie, I've been shot in the shoulder. A through and through. I've lost a lot of blood. I'll help Terry but Charlie I'm scared. It's getting cold and I know that means shock is setting in. Charlie, I don't mean to be morbid but if I loose too much blood and I don't get to tell you myself: I LOVE YOU. I've loved you for a long time…guess we just have bad timing._ Amita pressed send and then nodded at Terry.

"Oh you're awake" Terry said loud enough to catch the guys' attention

"Yeah but my shoulder still hurts" Amita replied. She had to resist the urge to yell at the men but tried to stay focused

"That's to be expected. You're lucky to be with Charlie" Terry stated. Amita looked a little confused for a moment but then understanding dawned on her face and she answered

"I know. He's funny, cute and brilliant beyond words" Amita said speaking the truth

"Is it true that Charlie taught his first class when he was only sixteen?" Terry asked. She was trying to lay the foundation that Charlie was brilliant to the point of being able to do anything with math

"Yeah I was speechless. I mean if he can graduate high school with Don at twelve and go to Princeton at thirteen, teach a class at sixteen then one can only imagine what else he can do" Terry smiled they were getting close. The guys were listening to them now

"I wish you could see all the work he's done for us. The equation to find the rapist, the one to find the sniper, and the algorithm to find the kidnapped girl. All of them he finished in a one or two days at the office, shorter when we needed" That statement did it. Joe called out to them

"Hey Ter" Joe called out. In doing so, it was then that she realized who he was. Only a handful of people have ever called her Ter and she could count them on one hand "Call back Don and tell him I want to talk him"

"Anything you say Joe" Terry practically spit out. It was Joe Rybak, a childhood friend. She was amazed that he would have done something like this. He was always on the quiet side, so seeing him end up the way he is now disappointed her

As the phone rang Don put her on speaker "Terry?" Don called into the phone bringing her back to reality.

"Yes Don. Joe wants to talk to you" She said as she stood up and fought not to hit him

"Agent Eppes. I have a change in my request"

"And that is?" Don asked as calmly. He was crossing his fingers

"Your brother is a genius mathematician right?"

"None smarter" Don answered proudly

"Right, right. If he's so smart I want him to come up with an equation or algorithm or something for me"

"What do you want it to do?" Don asked with an edge of fake anger in his voice. He wanted to make this real and if he sounded too calm…

"I want an algorithm that will give me access to bank accounts. It takes my mathematician a relatively long time to hack into the accounts. I want an equation that will get me in there faster. You have two hours, oh and agent hurry, Amita's looking a little pale" Joe hung up the phone with a smug satisfaction.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

After the messages were sent, both Charlie and Don walked to Don's desk and prayed silently for a call to come in. The office seemed to be void of its normal hum of activity. Charlie tried to think of anything other then the gunshot and Amita's scream. He knew it was her, there was no way of denying it. _I hope she's okay_ Charlie thought but soon it seems his thoughts were answered when his phone beeped and both Charlie and Don fell off their chairs at the noise

"I th-thought you were an FBI agent" Charlie stammered out once he recovered. He knew why he jumped at the beep: he's jumpy, especially when he's in deep thought and now posed no difference

"Be quiet, I just wasn't paying attention. Normally my senses are in high alert…was that a text message?" Don asked looking over at Charlie. However,Don didn't get answer because Charlie was too busy trying not to implode

"Uh…I…um…" Charlie stammered looking down at his phone. Too many emotions were coursing through him to come up with a coherent sentence. Amita said that she loved him and had loved him for a long time. She said this now though because she had been shot, had assumed (correctly) that she was going into shock (which means they have very little time), and was afraid that she wasn't going to get to say it herself.

"Charlie, give me the phone" Don said gently. He knew that whatever was on the phone was causing Charlie's problems. As Don read what was on the phone, he understood why Charlie was acting that way. _I don't blame him _Don thought_ if Terry had told me that she had gotten shot and was most likely going into shock and chose this moment to tell me that she loved me because she was afraid that she wouldn't get to say it herself, I think I would act the same way _"Charlie buddy, we'll get her back. One hour, just one hour"

"DON! SHE DOESN'T HAVE AN HOUR!" Charlie yelled and everyone turned to look at them

"Charlie, she's going to be ok" Don said trying to reassure him

"NO SHE'S NOT! She's gone into shock and still bleeding. You can't bleed for two hours and expect to live. I'm surprised that she's still awake and alive"

"Charlie stop talking like that"

"I can't help running the numbers Don. Statistically she's dead. Don-" Charlie started and then his voice cracked. He wasn't going to cry again he already felt foolish for doing so the first time

"Its ok Charlie" Don said hugging his brother. Don got Charlie to rise and walk towards the conference room but then Don's cell phone rang. Everyone froze for a moment, Don ran answer the phone and then pressed speakerphone so that others could monitor the call"Terry?" Don called into the phone

"Yes Don. Joe wants to talk to you" There was a pause and then Joe's voice rang out of the phone

"Agent Eppes. I have a change in my request"

"And that is?" Don asked as calmly. He (and the rest of the office that was listening) crossed their fingers

"Your brother is a genius mathematician right?" Joe asked calmly

"None smarter" Don answered proudly looking at Charlie. Charlie barely acknowledged they were talking about him. Had it been any other day he would have blushed at his brother complimenting, even boasting about him.

"Right, right" Joe answered sounding extremely bored "If he's so smart I want him to come up with an equation or algorithm or something for me"

"What do you want it to do?" Don asked with an edge of fake anger in his voice. He wanted to make this real and if he sounded too calm he would blow it

"I want an algorithm that will give me access to bank accounts. It takes my mathematician a relatively long time to hack into the accounts. I want an equation that will get me in there faster. You have two hours, oh and agent hurry, Amita's looking a little pale" A click and then a dial tone. Don hung up and then looked at Charlie. He paled and then ran to the bathroom. The whole office softened and they knew that they had to hurry not only to save an agent but Amita too. Don waited a minute before going after Charlie. He stepped into the bathroom and looked for his brother. He saw a pair of knees along with feet and he knew it was Charlie.

"Hey buddy" Don said lightly taking a seat next to the stall. He was answered with the sound of his brother getting sick again. Don opened the stall door and rubbed his brother's back while he finished. They sat there in silence for a moment waiting to see if there was anything left

"Thanks Don" Charlie said rising, then flushed the toilet and walked out to wash out his mouth and blow his nose. Don followed

"Do you want to tell me why you got sick? I mean I know the food here sucks but…" Don said attempting to make a joke and failing

"I saw her Don" Charlie's whisper barely heard above the running water

"Saw who?"

"Amita. I saw her dead. Pale and cold, he eyes wide open" Charlie paled and ran to the stall again but there was nothing left. Don waited for him to return to the sinks before continuing the conversation

"Charlie, you can't think that way. Obviously she was ok enough to have sent you that text message" Even as Don said the words he knew that it didn't hold up to much. How much strength and wits do you need to send a text message?

"Don, she's bleeding heavily. We need to get her out. We can't wait another hour, she may be beyond help by then" Charlie finished out his voice shaking so hard, Don was surprised that he was still able to understand what he had said

"Charlie" Don said taking him by the shoulders and staring him in the eyes, seeing a little bit of the glossing overin them that happens when Charlie shuts down"You have to stay with me, you have to keep hope. Amita, will be ok" Charlie, looked like he wanted to cry but he took a deep breath and nodded

"Let's go. I'll need to transfer everything onto a disk andthen we'll give it to them. Don, promise me after I'm done with the disk we'll go get them. I don't care how fast I get it done. Promise me, Don." Charlie said stopping in front of the door

"We'll try Charlie but you have to remember that they can't get suspicious. If we hand it over too early, they may call off the trade" When Charlie paused Don knew that Charlie hadn't thought of that

"I don't want to do anything that will hurt them but Don, I don't think Amita has that long…I don't think she'll make it another two hours"

"I know buddy I know" Don replied putting an arm around his baby brother's shoulders. He was shaking slightly. As Don lead Charlie out of the bathroom, he couldn't help but think _all we can do now is wait._


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Are you sure that he can get this equation done in under two hours?" Doug asked either Joe or Jack, whoever could answer, while looking at the clock. It had been an hour and a half already

"I'm sure" They both answered. Jack had heard of THE Charlie Eppes by reputation and Joe because well you can't teach a college class at age sixteen in Calsci and not be beyond the label of genius

"What if he can't?"

"He can and he will, especially if his lover is injured" Joe laughed afterwards which angered Terry. She glanced down to see how Amita would react but she had passed out again

"Amita" Terry tapped her cheek "Come on Amita, wake up" Amita reluctantly opened her eyes. The light was beginning to hurt them

"Terry, please let me sleep" Amita begged of her. The darkness and painlessness of sleep was calling her

"You can't. I know it hurts but you have to stay awake. How about you tell me about your date? That was the original plan before all of this" Terry said uselessly gesturing to her surroundings

"Still interested huh?" Amita tried to laugh and ended up coughing. _Its getting awfully cold_ Amita thought

"Of course. How did he ask you out?" Terry asked not letting her slip away

"A note. But it wasn't established as a date until afterwards. Mary was shopping…"Amita faded out and closed her eyes

"Amita" Terry said tapping her on the cheek again

"Sorry. Mary was out window-shopping and bumped into Charlie, he wrote me a note and um and" Amita faded out again but this time kept her eyes open.

"Gave it to her to give to you?"

"Yeah" She answered snapping back "I tore my wardrobe apart and found the cutest outfit" She paused and Terry thought she had lost her again when she came back "I was a little late because of traffic and Charlie looked so nervous, like he was afraid I wouldn't show up"

"I remember how nervous he was. I helped him get dressed" Terry said smiling

"I thought you had. We were seated and as we were walking I swear he was watching me. The dinner was fantastic. Charlie even fed me a piece of food" Amita looked up to see Terry's reaction

"Wow" Terry said putting on a face of surprise. Amita smiled weakly back and continued with her story

"Desert came and Charlie got nervous. He- he started tracing numbers. I knew he wanted to say something, so I reached out and took his hand" Amita drifted off again, closing her eyes, so Terry gently shook her. Amita opened her eyes and continued, "He said that he had been thinking for a long time and he decided it was time to tell me. He got as far as 'Amita I' when my phone started ringing"

"Oh no. Who was it?"

"Orlando, a friend that I had recently started going out with. Between you and me it was to kick start Charlie into saying something about his feelings. How did he react?"

"He went into the garage and worked on P vs. NP"

"Oh my god! I didn't know, I didn't think he would-" Amita started getting flustered and fidgety. She hated it when Charlie went into his P vs. NP world and now she had caused him to make another trip

"It's ok Amita. Relax. It wasn't anywhere near as long as he's done before. Continue with the date"

"I tell Charlie to continue, he insists I pick up the phone, says what he wants to say can wait. Orlando answers hey baby, I ask who it is, he says its Orlando and asks how many people call me baby, I said twenty four, ten that are men but all gay, Charlie gives a questioning glance, I laugh. That's where it all goes kinda downhill"

"What? Downhill? I thought you had a good date"

"I did, in the end. I got into a fight with Orlando. He made fun of Charlie and told me to choose between him and Charlie. I chose Charlie. He said thank god, he was only going out with me cause he thought I was easy and now he could go after some skinny blonde" A tear rolled down Amita's cheek at the memory of the extremely offensive comment. Terry wiped it away for her and waited for her to continue "Well I did start to cry and I just wanted to go home. I walked to the table and Charlie rushed to my side. I told him that I just wanted to leave and he dropped the amount of money for the bill on the table and we left" Amita stopped to rest for a moment and Terry let her. After a minute Terry her nudged her

"Amita don't stop now, I'm dying of curiosity" Terry joked lightly

"Ok, ok. We got into the back of my car because Charlie can't drive and I was too upset. I was so embarrassed to let him see me like that. He asked me what happened so I told him and that just made me cry harder. He held me then" Amita smiled and while Terry was glad to see her smile, she was also worried at the pain in her eyes

"Well don't stop there" Terry urged. She was really curious now. She wanted to know why they walked into the office holding hands

"He took my head in his hands, wiped away a tear and basically told me that everything Orlando had said was a lie. I kissed him-"

"Aw!" Terry interrupted

"-But then I panicked and pulled away cause he froze"

"Aw" Terry repeated but with a different tone

"I panicked! But hold on. Charlie took my hand and pulled me back to him. He looked me in the eyes and kissed me. I felt foolish because I couldn't stop crying. He seemed to understand because he pulled me into a tight hug and I rested against his chest while Don came with Alan to pick us up. When they got there they insisted that I sleep at Charlie's, that I was too tired to drive or something" Amita paused as she tried to hide the pain from Terry. Terry squeezed her hand "I'm sorry, it just hurts. So um Charlie and I got into Don's car and Alan drove my car back to the house. Me and Charlie went upstairs to his room, curled up with each other and fell asleep"

"Sounds like an amazing night, sparing Orlando"

"Terry can I rest now? Please?" Amita sounded on the brink of tears. Terry nodded and Amita got up and laid down in a booth and quickly fell asleep. Terry's anger flared only imagining what pain she was in and knowing that Amita wasn't going to be able to stay conscious much longer, if she did indeed wake up after just laying down now

"Aw, such a touching story" Joe quipped laughing

"Shut up Joe" Terry spat at him

"Getting angry much?" Joe answered raising his eyebrows at her

"Not really, more disappointed. I can't believe you went from planning to be a social worker to a being a thief"

Joe looked surprised for a moment and then smiled "Took you long enough"

"Damn it, Joey what happened?" Terry asked softly

"No money for college happened. I was forced to work day in and day out at the local supermarket. After a year or two, I saved enough money to take some summer classes. I failed out. Social work was apparentlynot my thing. So I worked another year or two and took some classes in computers. I got a degree. I realized however after a few months of trying to get a job that no one would hire me. So I said screw doing it the honorable, correct-"

"Legal" Terry added bitterly, Joe just smirked

"-Way. I called a few friends of mine to help me pull of the plan and, well here I am"

"I-" Terry started but then her phone rang

**Author's note: **I added a little bit of Joe's history because I realized that he's turning out to be a lot…meaner then I had originally intended. I wanted to write him more like Jack but well that didn't work out. I just wanted to show that there was a reason why he's the way he is, show that he's _slightly_ human.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Charlie sat watching the clock impatiently. It had been an hour and half and Charlie was going insane. He had finished transferring everything to a disk in an hour and Don hadn't let him hand it over.

"Don" Charlie called out for what was the tenth time

"Charlie, what did I say?" Don called back. He had to arrange everything for the process of handing over the equation, which was a lot more then most people think

"You said I had to wait until it was a half an hour away from the dead line. Well, look at what time it is" Don looked down at the clock on his desk and it was indeed time to hand over the algorithm

"Ok, ok. Listen up everybody" Don called out those who were on the case stopped dead in their tracks and gravitated towards Don's desk "It's a half an hour before the deadline, and we're ready for the tradeoff. David, hand me my cell phone" David silently walks over to Don and hands him his cell phone, Don nods as a thank you and then hits two for speed dial and presses speaker phone. Charlie quickly realizing that the phone is ringing takes a place next to his brother

"Don, ask how Amita is, if you can" Charlie adds almost inaudibly. The fear in his eyes was staggering. Don nods to him, he wasn't going to forget to find out about her again

"Don" Terry's voice rang from the phone

"Terry, before I say anything, how is Amita?" Don looked at Charlie. His eyes were begging for good news even though in his heart he knew none would come

"Don, she's lost a lot of blood and, well don't tell Charlie but-" In the spilt second before she continued, all eyes fixed on Charlie then but he was too busy listening to find out what he wasn't supposed to know. Don, kicked himself for putting her on speaker because there was no reason "-Amita had lost consciousness. I tried to keep her awake, it worked for a little while, she went to lie down a minute or two before you called and I think my phone would have woken her up" Charlie felt his knees go weak and he thought he was going to faint but he refused to show weakness this time

"Thanks for the news about Amita Terry" Charlie spoke out loud. Charlie was wishing for better news but realized that bad news is slightly better then no news

There was a gasp from Terry's end of the phone. She must have just realized she was on speaker phone "Oh Charlie, I'm sorry"

"It's ok Terry, I calculated as much" Charlie said with a voice that sounded calm and collected to anyone that hadn't grown up with him but to Don it was strained and he knew his brother was struggling to just stay standing

"So Don did Charlie finish the equation?" Terry asked abruptly changing the subject. Don almost said you know we had finished before we even called you but it took a second to realize that he must be on speakerphone too

"Yes he did. It's all on a disk we just have to arrange an exchange time" There was a long pause and Don was afraid that he has some how lost the call when Joe's voice came on the phone

"There will be no exchange. There will be a drop off" Don's temper flared at those words. That changed the whole way he was going to have to deal with this

"What do you propose? We knew where you are, do you really expect all those cops to let you through?" Don said with a forced calm

"No, they won't let me through but they will let your precious Terry through" You could barely hear the string of curses being issued from Terry's mouth over Don's. After the cursing stopped, Don opened his mouth to let loose on Joe when Charlie took the phone away from him and handed it to David. Don turned quickly on Charlie and opened his mouth to yell at his brother when Don saw the look in his eyes. It said what Don needed to hear: you have to let David handle this right now because you'll say something stupid and that will only hurt Terry and Amita, and she's already hurt.

"What do you have in mind?" David asked calmly

"We let Terry here go to a designated street corner, you give her the disk and she comes back to us. You wait fifteen minutes before entering, well be gone by then"

"Hmm" David replied

"What does that mean?" Joe snapped

"Well frankly I'm surprised you're trusting her to leave and then come back"

"I know that she'll come back because I know that she knows if she doesn't Amita will be shot, fatally this time" Hearing this Charlie almost fainted for the second time within fifteen minutes (at most). After the lightheadedness passed, the words of what he said sunk in and he lost it

"FATALY THIS TIME! DO YOU NOT REALIZE THAT IT MAY ALREADY BE FATAL! SHE'S BLEEDING TO DEATH RIGHT NOW!" Charlie was going to continue but was surprised to find that he was being dragged into the conference room by is brother

"Charlie, calm down, Charlie you have to calm down" Don spoke softly and calmly to his brother

"Don he-" Charlie started but he didn't have the heart to finish. He just closed his eyes and collapsed into the chair, praying that when he opened his eyes he'd be back in his bed with his arms around Amita and this had all just been a dream

"Charlie, get up. We have to get ready for the exchange" Don said pulling him to his feet

"Didn't you just drag me in here?" Charlie said following his brother. Don however didn't answer and just continued walking

After a half an hour the team was in place and Don was pacing

"Where is she?" Don spoke into his headset

"She's two blocks away" David answered, then double with other members of the team

"I think I can see her" Don spoke

"She's a block away" David confirmed watching her walk towards Don from the car he was in. Don waited patiently until he saw Terry across the street. Had it not been for the little voice of David saying 'stay put, stay put' he would have run across the street and jeopardized the whole thing

"Don" Terry called from a few feet away

"Terry" Don said back and pulled her into a hug. She was shaking "Are you ok? Let me see that cut on your head" Don said holding Terry at arms length to examine her. Don felt anger surge through his veins at the cut on Terry's head; it was going to take at least eight sutures

"I'm ok. As much as I regret going back, but I have to. Give me the disk"

"Here" Don said handing over the disk

"Thanks. The sooner I get this back, the sooner Amita gets medical attention. I'm seriously worried"

"It'll all be over soon" Don said not wanting to let Terry go but he knew had to, for Amita's (and inadvertently Charlie's) sake. Terry turned to cross the street again when she suddenly she turned back and kissed Don passionately on the lips

"I love you too" Terry whispered in his ear then dashed across the street, leaving Don in a stunned silence.

**Author's note:** I decided that he was already mean, so I continued with making Joe be the evial (yes evial) little man that he is


	30. Chapter 30

I am so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, I went to visit my friends from where I used to live for the Harry Potter book release (Thursday night- Saturday night) and then I couldn't put the book down (now) but I realized that if I didn't update relatively soon (cause it will take awhile to write a chapter) I would have had a mutiny on my hands, so thanks for being patient here's the next chapter

Chapter 30

"Here" Terry said tossing the disk at Joe with disgust in her voice

"Very nice Ter" Joe commented turning the disk over in his hands. Doug wanted to plug it in immediately. Jack was hesitant

"Joey" Terry called softly "Let us go"

"I want to talk to 'agent Eppes'" Joe said mockingly "I don't want him barging in here before my fifteen minutes are up"

"Fine" Terry said grudgingly. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Don's number

"Terry?" Don answered hurridly. Terry noticed that he had dropped his normal curt 'Eppes' for an answer

"Yeah. Joe wants to talk to you" Terry said shortly handing over the phone. Don knew why she was being so short. She was worried about Amita.

"Agent Eppes, long time, no talk"

"You're wasting your fifteen minutes" Don said with a tone that showed how impatient he was becoming

"They start when I hang up the phone" Joe answered showing how impatient he was becoming. Don almost started to argue but he remembered that he had the disk, what's to keep him from killing the hostages?

"Fine" Don said expecting to get an answer but again a click and a dial tone was all he got. Sighing, Don dialed David's number.

"Agent Sinclair" David answered

"Dave, it's Don. Start the counter over"

"What? Why?" David staggered. They were already down to eight minutes

"Joe called, said that the fifteen minutes were to start AFTER he hung up the phone which was one minute ago, so set the counter to about thirteen and a half when I hang up the phone"

"Ok" David answered and they both hung up. Don put his phone away and stared at the ground as he massaged his temple. They were losing valuable minutes. Terry was in amazing health (sparing the gash on her head) and while Amita was probably inches from death. Don heard footsteps approaching him and was going to yell at them to go away (Terry was hurt and Amita dying, he really didn't feel like dealing with an inexperienced agent) but froze when he saw the person's shoes. They were Charlie's old worn out sneakers that Don swears he got for his first day of college, almost sixteen years ago

"How long have you had those sneakers?" Don questioned when Charlie sat down next to him

"Only a few years" Charlie answered looking a little caught off guard by the question

"Liar. I swear you got those sneakers for your first day of college"

"No, those are at home. These are the ones I got when I was tenured" The brothers looked at each other for a moment and laughed. Don recovered first, remembering where they were

"Are you ok?" Don asked turning serious. Charlie's smile slowly died as he turned to face Don

"No" Charlie answered quietly. Don was startled. He thought Charlie was going to answer that he was holding out, that he was going to be fine, that he had faith that Amita was going to be ok

"Oh Charlie…" Don whispered and leaned over and gave his brother a hug. Charlie was tense for a moment then relaxed into his brother's embrace. Charlie hugged back, remembering that the woman Don loved was in there too and he needed just as much comfort as he did. The brothers sat there for a long time, hugging and comforting each other, neither noticing the agents around them watching from time to time

"Ah only five minutes left, time to make our escape boys" Joe said nodding to Jack and Doug who had just finished tying up Terry "It was so lovely to see you Terry" Joe said stepping through the door, followed shortly by Doug. Jack hesitated. He quickly ran behind the counter, got the keys out from under the counter where Joe had taped them and threw them at Terry and ran to catch up before Doug noticed he wasn't right behind him. Terry sat there stunned for a moment and then scrambled to get her cuffs off. It took some twisting and pulling (which she knew was going to bruise), than the cuffs were off. She rushed to Amita's side, concerned for her. She still hadn't woken from her "nap" and Terry knew that she's very close to losing her. The minutes ticked by slowly. Soon a familiar voice boomed from outside and Terry couldn't help but smile

"Joe, you're fifteen minutes are up" Don called into the megaphone. No answer "Fine, we're coming in then". Terry held her breath as she heard the teams move into place. A long pause followed and then a loud bang of the door being kicked in. Guns swept the area and a few members of the team continued on. A "clear!" was shouted from the back room and then people started filing out

"Terry" Don called walking to her side

"Don" Terry answered flinging her arms around his neck. She let go quickly and looked around

"He's outside" Don spoke, noticing that she was looking for someone, presumably Charlie

"How did you get him to stay out there? Sit on him?" Terry quipped

"I made a deal that if he waited out there he could ride in the ambulance with her. Speaking of" Don trailed off looking over Terry "How is she?" He asked concern clearly showing in his eyes

"She won't wake up. We needed to get her to a hospital an hour ago, but now will have to do" Terry said looking back down at Amita and then around the café. She hadn't realized there was that much blood until she looked around. There was a large pool on the ground and another below her

"Send in the paramedics" Don radioed into David. Another moment passed when three paramedics came in. Two, with a gurney, to take care of Amita and another for Terry. The one fussed over Terry for a few moments, and informed her that she was going to need sutures but she wasn't listening, she was watching what was going on with Amita. They were hooking her up to a machine, and inserted two IVs: one of blood and one of saline. They started to bag her, to help her breathe better. Terry stood up (so quickly she got dizzy and nearly fell but Don was at her side to hold her) when she saw that Amita was now on a gurney. The heart monitor beeped a slowly, Terry noting too slowly for comfort. She followed the gurney and looked towards the ambulance where Charlie was anxiously pacing. He stopped pacing when he saw the gurney. As the paramedics got closer a hand flew to his mouth, and he looked close to collapsing. She was loaded onto the ambulance and they were off.

"Come on, lets get you to the hospital" Don said putting an arm around Terry and leading her gently to his car. Terry thankful for Don's warmth and comfort, let herself be lead away

Keep reading guys, two or three more chapters and then an epilogue.


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's note:** Some medical jargon, which will be explained at the end

Chapter 31

Charlie watched in slow motion as the gurney rolled towards him. He saw the IVs, the blood soaked shirt, and last Amita's pale (but still beautiful) face slightly blocked off by the resuscitator. Her face, being so pale looked like a porcelain version of the one Charlie knew. Involuntarily a hand flew to his mouth as he looked again at her shirt, Charlie felt like he was going to be sick. As the gurney passed him, Charlie willed himself to keep it together. HE needed to be there for HER this time. He needed to be the strong one this time. Climbing into the ambulance to ride with the woman he loved (because now there was no doubt left in Charlie's mind it was love) was one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. Torn between wanting to hold Amita's hand and wanting to stay out of the paramedic's way, Charlie spent most of the ride going between sitting on the bench staring at Amita willing her to open her eyes and holding her hand praying to everything and everyone he could think of. They were almost to the hospital when an alarm on her heart monitor went off

"We lost her pulse! V-fib!" One paramedic called to the other. Charlie stopped breathing. Her pulse (as indicated on the monitor) was gone.

"Ok let's shock her" The other paramedic called to the other "Hang on sweetheart" He cooed under his breath at Amita. Charlie felt a split second of jealousy before realizing this just wasn't the time

"What-What's going on?" Charlie stammered out quietly. One paramedic looked at him and just now seemed to remember that he was in the back of the rig with them

"We need to shock her now" The paramedic answered. Noticing that Charlie was still clinging to Amita's hand added "…and you need to let go of her hand"

"Oh" Charlie whispered, letting go of her hands but moving down to her feet where he was out of the way. He heard the paramedic call "clear!" and he removed his hand. No change. Tears started to leak from Charlie's eyes. He started praying again. Another "clear!", another shock, again no change. _She's dying don't waste your time praying, tell her how you feel_ Charlie told himself. He moved back up to her side and started whispering in her ear "Amita, I love you. I love you more then words can say, I'm so sorry it took me so long to get these words out. I'm sorry that I couldn't help you more. I'm sorry our timing was off. I love you Amita don't leave me now"

"Sir, let go" The paramedic told him, Charlie hadn't realized that he had taken her hand. He shocked her with the highest charge and to the immeasurable joy of Charlie a little blip registered on the monitor. Amita was back.

"Good going sweetheart, hold on a little longer" The other paramedic cooed again. Charlie however didn't feel jealous this time, he was too happy that Amita was back…for now. Another moment and the ambulance stopped moving. The paramedics walked to the back of the ambulance and threw the doors open and started rattling off stats

"GSW to the left shoulder. BP seventy over forty-five, pulse forty, respirations weak and shallow, lost her pulse and went into v-fib, shocked her three times, on the third we regained her pulse…three units of o-neg in the field, two IVs of saline. " By the time the paramedic had finished Amita was surrounded by doctors and nurses calling out orders. Charlie had followed the gurney silently to the trauma room and was now standing in the corner. It was around five minutes after they had arrived that anyone noticed Charlie standing in the corner (and that was because they had almost ran into him to get one of the drawers with medical supplies they needed)

"Uh can I help you with something honey, cause your not supposed to be in here" The nurse that had practically run him over asked

"Oh sorry. I came in with Amita" Charlie said quietly. He had been caught and now he was going to have to leave

"Are you her next of kin?" The nurse asked kindly

"Uh…" Charlie stammered. Before the nurse got to question him further she was called to help them. After another moment, she returned

"You were saying?" She prompted

"Uh I'm not her next of kin but all of her family that I know of lives in India" Charlie said softly. He scrambled to think of someone in the U.S. All her immediate family was in India. He tried to think of aunts, uncles, anyone. Maybe Mary?

"Do you know who her next of kin is?" The nurse asked

"No, though I'm guessing that it would be her roommate, Mary Hughes. Phone number at the apartment is five six seven three six four seven" Charlie rattled off. He was hoping that maybe if he helped, he could stay close

"Thank you Mr.-" The nurse started and then realized she never caught his name

"Eppes. Dr. Charlie Eppes" He finished and then added noticing her wide eyes "Of mathematics" He hoped again that maybe if he stayed quiet they would let him stay. No such luck.

"Well Dr. Eppes, if you have a seat in chairs…"

"Of course. Please-please let me know if, though more likely when, they move her to surgery. I want to be there-when she wakes up" The nurse nodded and Charlie wandered to chairs wanting to kick himself for almost saying 'if' she wakes up

"Hello?" Mary answered the phone anxiously. She knew Amita had left for FBI headquarters to help and that made her nervous. She knew it was an irrational fear, she knew wouldn't be out in the field but no matter how many times she made Amita promise to call, she still hadn't gotten in contact, which is why when the phone rang she practically fell off the couch to answer it

"Is this Mary Hughes?" The nurse from the trauma room (Marlene) asked

"Yes, may I ask who's speaking?"

"This is Marlene Landis from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, do you know a miss-"

"Dr. Amita Ramanujan" Mary finished for her. All of her family lived on the east coast and she knew that Cedars-Sinai was a public hospital not too far from here

"She's a doctor?" Marlene questioned

"Of mathematics, but I feel there is a more pressing issue at hand. Why are you calling for, or is it about, her?"

"We have her here in the ER and we need to locate her next of kin"

Mary paled, she had seen enough medical dramas to know what that means "Is it really that bad? I know it can't be a trip and fall, break her ankle if you need to find the next of kin"

"She came in here with a gunshot wound to her shoulder, she lost a lot of blood. They're going to be taking her up to surgery soon and they need next of kin to be here"

"Hold on a moment, let me go get her papers" Mary ran to get Amita's important papers. When Amita and Mary first moved in together, they had made an agreement to keep their papers in the same place so that if something ever happened, something like this, they wouldn't have to waste valuable time looking all over the apartment for them. Mary searched through the papers. _Mine, mine, mine, hers…not the right one, mine, mine…where are all of her important papers! Oh thank god here it is_ "Ok I found them" Mary said into the phone, slightly breathless from the running and frantic search

"Who is listed as her next of kin?" Marlene asked

"Oh my god, Charlie" Mary stammered

"Charlie who?" Marlene asked

"I'm sorry. Dr. Charles Eppes. He's listed as her next of kin"

I wanted to only write ONE chapter where Amita is in the hospital but this seemed to be a good place to end it

So medical jargon: **V-fib-** ventricular fibrillation and that's basically when the heart muscles (the ventricles) rapidly twitch in place of normal contractions, resulting in a loss of pulse. **GSW**- Gun shot wound. **BP**- blood pressure **respirations**- those just describe her breathing. **Three units of o-neg**- three bags of O negative blood in the field


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

It was a quiet ride for Don and Terry. Don was focused on getting to the hospital, not only for Terry's sake but Charlie and Amita's too. Terry was silent because while her and Don needed to talk about their relationship, she sensed that now was not the time, that and her head was killing her. The hospital came into view and Terry felt the car accelerate. Now that the hospital was in sight, it seemed Don couldn't wait any longer to get there. After waiting very impatiently at a light, Don swerved into the hospital parking lot, climbed out, ran around the side of the car, and opened the door all before Terry had barely gotten her seat belt off. Terry seemed anxious, not knowing how to proceed. "_Do I take his hand?"," Do we walk side by side?", "Is he going to put his arm around my shoulders?", _were all thoughts entertained in Terry's mind. His words and her kiss had made the casual things she took for granted, suddenly awkward. Terry's questions were answered when Don put an arm around Terry's lower back and guided her to the entrance of the Emergency Room. As Terry and Don walked through the double doors, both scanned for Charlie. On first scan they couldn't find him. It wasn't until Terry stopped looking for his face, and started for his hair did she find him: he was huddled in a corner with his head in his hands apparently very distraught. Don guided Terry over to the chairs next to Charlie. She sat down as Don went to tell the triage nurse that Terry needed to be seen soon.

"Charlie?" Terry spoke softly tapping him on the shoulder. It was a moment before he answered, and looked up (but not before he wiping away tears Terry swore were shining on his cheeks only moments before)

"Hi Terry. How's your head?" Charlie asked turning to face Terry. His face had worry lines etched in them and fear was the only thing Terry could see in his eyes.

"It's been better" She answered touching it tentatively. It was sore and the blood from the cut had congealed on her hair but it wasn't a gun shot wound "How's Amita?" Terry asked timidly

"I don't know. She went into v-fib on the way here, they shocked her three times and she came back. They gave her blood and they paged a surgeon. I spoke a nurse and she told me she would tell me when they take her up to surgery. That was fifteen minutes ago…" Charlie trailed off, and looked back at the ground. Terry suddenly understood what Charlie was nervous and scared about. She knew that he knew it doesn't take that long to get her up to surgery. If she was going up to surgery, he should have been notified. If she wasn't going up to surgery, that only meant one thing….

"I'm so sorry Charlie. I feel like all of this is my fault" Terry admitted softly. _If I had only told Don the truth, if I only took her to the cafeteria, if I had only realized there was a situation sooner, if I had only negotiated harder…_

"It wasn't your fault" Charlie replied with a force she didn't expect "It was Joe's fault and anyone else that was with him" Terry was about to reply (she oddly felt the need to defend herself) when Marlene appeared at the front of chairs

"Dr. Eppes there you are" She called walking towards Charlie. Charlie and Terry both looked at the approaching woman. Don who had been trying to pin someone down to give Terry the sutures she needed, turned and jogged towards his brother at the sound Charlie being called to. He knew this was news about Amita and he needed to be there if it was bad news.

"I'm sorry. I thought you told me to wait here, nurse…" Charlie suddenly realized he never got her name

"Marlene Landis. You can just call me Marlene" She said smiling "And yes I did tell you to wait here, I must have missed you the first time I went by"

"How is she?" Charlie asked his voice shaking. He was afraid to ask because he was terrified of the possible answers

"She's up in surgery, which is why I came to find you" Charlie let go of a breath, closed his eyes, and leaned against the chair. Terry however noticed there was more she wanted to say and nudged him to open his eyes and sit up again

"I'm sorry, you weren't finished?" Charlie asked

"Well, I wanted to know your relationshipwith Dr. Ramanujan"

"She's my girlfriend" Charlie saidsmiling slightly(though it didn't quite reach his eyes), for he had been waiting a long time to be able to say that

"How long have you known her for?" Marlene asked. She was curious why he had been named next of kin. Marlene had noticed in her years as an ER nurse that many people who don't have family close, tend to ask a good friend because they were more dependable then a girl or boyfriend. She's seen instances where the next of kin listed was the patient's partner that they had broken up with recently and didn't get a chance to change, and now their partner was saddled with making life or death decisions for someone they were most likely never going to see again

"Three and a half, four years. Why?" Charlie just wanted to go up to the surgery waiting room and she was keeping him down here. Logically he could leave, but that was rude and on a second thoughtit didn't matter how quickly he got up to the waiting room, it wouldn't make the surgery end sooner nor guarantee her safety

"Well she has you listed as her next of kin" Marlene said bluntly. Don and Terry exchanged looks. Charlie looked surprised

"She-she listed me as her next of kin?" Charlie hesitatingly asked. He was surprised for a moment but then remembered what exactly that entailed: making possible life or death decisions

"You're surprised?" Marlene questioned

"Well I knew-" Terry noted this (Charlie was already talking in past tense) "-her for three and a half, four years. We only started dating last night" Charlie finished softly. _Had it really only been just last night? _

"Oh…um she's had you listed as her next of kin for long time" Marlene answered slowly. How close were they? Its unusual enough that partners are listed as next of kin, but they've only been going out for less then twenty-four hours and Charlie didn't even know he was listed

"How long? Can you tell?" Charlie asked. He wasn't angry but how could he be listed as next of kin and Amita not even tell him?

"Um about two years" Marlene answered sheepishly. Everyone's (well Terry and Charlie's, Don just sat there) jaw just dropped. _Two years? _Charlie thought _she had that much faith that I'd still be close to her NOW, two years ago when she decided me to be her next of kin_

"Right, well it doesn't surprise me" Don said after a moment of silence. As everyone turned to look at him he got the feeling he had said something wrong "It doesn't." Don repeated justifying himself "She knew that you and her would be safe, their both professors of mathematics at college. Not exactly the most high risk of jobs" As Charlie looked down and Terry's stare turned from one of curiosity to one of 'are you stupid?' and 'apologize, idiot'. He then looked at Marlene, who held a gaze similar to Terry's, he suddenly grasped what he had done wrong. Despite his previous words of not having a dangerous job it was Amita, the math professor, on the brink of life and death after getting shot, not Don or Terry the FBI agents. "Oh buddy, I'm so sorry" Don reached out and squeezed one of Charlie's shoulders

"Its ok. You're right. Being a mathematics professor is a safe job. Amita wasn't hurt teaching a class" Charlie said a little unsteadily. She was the one that had the truly safe job. Yes, he was a mathematics professor teacher too, but he consulted for all the levels of security in the government, he knew there was a chance HE'D get hurt but never in a million years did he think Amita…

"You're right. She was hurt by some-" Terry muttered an obscenity under her breath, lost in the bustling sounds of the hospital "-who thought he'd try a get rich quick scheme, albeit an illegal one. I just can't believe Joe. Of all people" Now it was Terry's turn to be stared at "We grew up together. I realized who it was when he called me Ter, there are very few people that call me Ter"

"I'm sorry to interrupt-" Marlene interrupted. She had to get back to work and she wanted to walk Charlie to the waiting room. There was something familiar about him and she wanted to make sure he was ok "-but I need to get back and I promised Dr. Eppes that I'd get him to the surgical waiting room"

"It's Charlie" Charlie told her. He felt bad about telling her doctor in the trauma room but it was a reflex. As he stood, he turned to look at Don

"I'll-" Don started to say but Terry interrupted him

"We'll" Terry corrected

With a slight smile Don continued "-be up as soon as Terry's done with her sutures"

"I didn't know you were hurt" Marlene exclaimed

"Just a cut on the back of my head" Terry answered timidly while Marlene moved to look at the cut

"Come on" Marlene said pulling Terry from her seat "I'll flag a doctor to suture your head and then I'll take you upstairs" Marlene gathered the three people and took them to the treatment area. She instructed them all to stay put while she tried to find a doctor. The three sat in silence. Terry and Don needed to talk but they wanted to do it privately, and Charlie was so anxious to get up the waiting room, Don and Terry knew that he wouldn't be able to focus on a conversation on anything other then Amita no matter how hard he tried. After a few moments Marlene returned with a very timid looking young man. There was a whispered conversation between the man and Marlene, than Marlene walked towards them dragging the man behind her "I'm sorry, I could only grab a med student"

"It's ok. I'm Terry" Terry said holding out her hand for a handshake. The med student still looking timid, quickly shook her hand and still said nothing

"Again, I'm sorry. Jacobs, get ready for the sutures, I'll be back in a few minutes" He nodded, Marlene rolled her eyes, and lead Charlie away. They walked in silence as Marlene tried to wonder why she felt such an odd connection to Charlie. She felt this need to protect him and she didn't know why. He obviously was old enough to take care of himself. There was just something really familiar about him and she wanted to know what it is

"Um, Marlene, I don't want to seem rude but is there a reason why you're staring at me?" Charlie asked. Since they left Terry and Don, Marlene had been watching Charlie closely. They had stopped at the elevator banks, when it had finally driven him crazy enough to ask

"Oh sorry. I have this feeling that I've seen or met you before"

"Do you have any mathematicians in the family?" Charlie tried. That was the most possible answer. Someone had heard of him and it was passed on

"No. No one. Where do you teach?" Marlene tried

"Calsci"

"I went there for nursing classes, but you're too young to have been a teacher or a student for that matter…"

"You'd be surprised. What years did you attend?"

"Nineteen eighty seven- ninety one"

"I was a student" Charlie said smirking for the first time since the brief moment with Don involving his shoes

"No! Really? You look really young for your age" Marlene commented. This turn of conversation caught Charlie off guard for a moment

"How old do you think I am?"

"Well, taking in to effect that you're a professor with a doctorate, and you attend at least some of the years I did, you have to be at least in mid thirties but most likely a little older"

"I'm twenty nine" Charlie said bluntly waiting for her reaction which was, a jaw drop like he had expected

"What? How old were you when you started college? Twelve?"

"Thirteen actually" Charlie enjoyed her stunned expression. The conversation didn't go any further however because as the elevator stopped moving and the doors slid open, both Marlene and Charlie seemed to remember the gravity of what was happening. Marlene approached the nurse's desk to tell them that Amita's next of kin was in the waiting room, Charlie stood there in silence. The walk to the waiting room was one of the hardest walks Charlie's ever had to endure. Marlene noticed to sudden withdrawal of Charlie into himself and was concerned. Now that she thought back she does remember a little boy in one of her classes. She always thought that he was the teacher's kid. They arrived at the waiting room and Charlie froze

"What's wrong?" Marlene asked after walking back out of the waiting room, realizing that Charlie was not behind her

"I-I can't go in there. I don't want the last memories I have of Amita to be me sitting in a waiting room. I-I have to go and w-work on that um that program I created to um to trace the robbers" Charlie answered backing up

"Charlie!" Marlene called out as he started to back up faster. She jogged and caught him just as he turned to bolt "Look at me…you're last memories of Amita will have to involve Amita" She said bluntly. Charlie blushed at this slightly "Charlie, I've been a nurse for a good few years now, and I've seen enough people decide they can't sit and wait HERE. I understand that. If you go home to wait, that's fine too, I'm sure that doctors prefer you wait here…but don't do work. I know it's hard." Marlene said quickly as Charlie shifted, getting anxious again "I know people say try to stay busy, but I've noticed that the people who do stay busy regret for the rest of their lives they spent the last time with their loved ones, working." Seeing the fear flood Charlie's eyes she mentally kicked herself "Damn, this isn't coming out as I had hoped. I know you don't want to hear this but there are odds that Amita will die. You're a mathematician, I'm sure youunderstandodds. I'm saying I don't want you sitting here worrying yourself sick, but I also know that you don't want go and spend what might be the last of your time with a loved one working on a computer" Charlie sat there as the truth in her words sunk in. He felt guilty beyond words, beyond guilt (if there is indeed another emotion beyond guilt to explain how guilty he felt) about not being there more for his mother, his family in their time of need.

"I just don't know what to do. I can't sit here and wait then I'll go crazy. However, if I go home I'll work and I already made that mistake once, I can't waste the last moments of Amita's life like I wasted my mother's"

"Wait here. Terry and Don will be up here shortly. I'd wait here with you but-"

"-You don't trust the med student. It's fine" Charlie finished collapsing in a chair. He seemed startled for a moment. He didn't remember actually walking into the waiting room yet here he was. It was carpeted, had potted plants, a TV and magazines from five years ago. It was the hospital's way of saying 'Sorry you gotta be here, here's a pretty room to make it suck less'

"How about I come back up when my shift's done? An hour or so?"

"You don't have to do that" Charlie insisted. He didn't want to suck another person into what he was feeling now

"It's fine. I'll see you in an hour" Marlene gave Charlie's shoulder a squeeze. Marlene turned to leave, but Charlie called out

"Wait! How long is the surgery?"

"I have to double check but I think three or four hours"

"Thank you" Charlie said so quietly, Marlene wasnt sure he had actually said it. Marlene smiled a small sad smile and left. As the door closed behind Marlene, Charlie closed his eyes, and tried desperately to block out the statistics and gruesome images that rushed his mind. _This is going to be the longest three or four hours of my life._

I don't know how long the surgery would actually take. It really depends on the damage the bullet did, but I'm trying not to go crazy over details like that. The story may be a chapter or two longer then I had said originally (I kinda get carried away when writing, these last two or three chapters have gone in a different direction then I had planned) but I'm sure after sticking around for thirty some odd chapters, one or two more then planned won't hurt


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: I don't know the name of Terry's ex husband (or if she did indeed have an ex husband, I may have read that in another fanfic…I don't know any of her history) so it's going to be Josh…oh and read the OTHER author's not at the end

Chapter 33

As Marlene walked away, the med student Jacobs went to work setting everything up. Terry and Don watched him, suddenly wondering maybe it wasn't ok that a med student was taking care of Terry. However, Terry did realize that now was an opportune time to talk because there may not be time later and she had been holding her feelings in for so long, she doesn't know if she could hold them in for any longer.

"Don-" Terry called out softly

"Yes" Don replied turning around to face her and taking her hand in the process

"We-we need to talk about what happened today" Terry spoke with control. Right now, the only thing she wanted was his arms around her and to tell him that she had been waiting for his admission of love for too long. Terry opened her mouth to start the long talk, let the words spill but Don held his hand up. She closed her mouth then with the other hand closed the curtain around them. Not that the curtain gave true privacy (you could still hear every word) but she wanted it there in case she needed to cry

"Let me go first, please, cause I can't take keeping this inside any longer" Don spoke taking her other hand "I honestly don't remember why we broke up. I admit that when it ended I still had feelings for you but then I met Kim. When my mom got sick and I came back home and lost Kim, I thought I would miss her like I missed you but somehow the pain that I felt after losing her was different…I had loved Kim, that's why I proposed-" Terry opened her mouth to interrupt but he gave her a look that let her know he wasn't done. She closed her mouth again "-but I had to admit that while we were dating, I had once in awhile imagined the life I would have had with you if we had gotten married and I liked the image. When I transferred back to LA and we became partners again I was overjoyed. I saw the chance to have our relationship back but you didn't seem to feel the same. When I heard that you had gotten hurt, I can't describe the anger I was feeling" Don paused. For a moment Terry thought it was her turn but then he started talking again "Though the anger flushed from my veins when I thought of the position you were in. I added 'I love you' to the end of the text message because I was afraid that I wouldn't get a chance to say it in person. We put our lives on the line every day but you being held hostage was something very different. There wasn't that degree of control that we normally have. I added it because it's true. I love you Theresa Lake" With that Don brought up Terry's hands to his mouth and kissed them. He returned them to her lap and looked at her signaling it was her turn to speak

"Honestly, I don't remember why we broke up either. I think we both agreed that it would be hard to work in the FBI and be together, I don't remember. I do remember that after I was transferred to LA you were the only person I could think of. I missed you so much. I met Josh and we hit it off. I thought of you less and less but you never truly left my mind. When Josh proposed, I accepted but I still wanted a life with you. I would wake up some mornings next to him, saw the short spiky black hair, and for a split second thought I was waking up next to you like I had always dreamed" Terry paused and Don feared that she had finished but after a moment she continued "When Josh and I got divorced, it hurt. I had loved him at one point and we had something very nice but it was time we ended it, we just didn't mesh well I suppose. Then you came back into my life. I was excited about this new agent that was smart and amazing and had run his own department where he worked before. To joy, it was you Don. I've wanted to ask you out since you first got back but when we broke up we agreed to always keep a professional distance, but I can't do that anymore. If I only learned one thing today it was when I was watching Amita when she got that text message from Charlie, and the one she sent back. It made me realize that we can't wait for tomorrow because tomorrow might not come. I love you Donald Eppes" Don let go of one of her hands, placed it under her chin, titled her towards his, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. The med student coughed, signaling that he was done and if was all right to open the curtain.

"You can pull the curtain back" Don answered smiling

"Ok, so I'm going to irrigate the wound and then um cut some of the hairs away from the wound so I don't suture them" Jacobs for the first time

"Ok" Terry responded taking Don's hands again. She flinched once or twice when the med student not so gracefully cleaned her wound. He trimmed her hair and thankfully she didn't see a whole lot fall. Just as Jacobs finished Marlene returned

"Good job Jacobs. Now, what are you going to use for the sutures?" Marlene asked smiling, trying to relax the med student. He was really smart just very patient shy.

"Um number four nylon?" Jacobs mumbled after a moment

"Correct. Now what do you do?"

"Start suturing?" Jacobs answered unsurely again

"Did you ask if she was allergic to Novocain?"

"Yes" Don answered quickly. For some reason he felt the need to protect Jacobs (maybe it was because he seemed so out of his element) "For my own curiosity what would she get instead?"

"That would take some history taking" Jacobs answered relieved that Don had saved him "We would have to find out if she was allergic to the whole –caine family but she's not so we don't have to worry about that"

"Ok, well I'll get the Lidocaine, I'll be back in a moment" Marlene walked off

"How did you know I wasn't allergic to Novocain?" Terry inquired

Slightly blushing Don answered, "Cause when we were going out at the academy you went to the dentist to get a tooth pulled you said 'thank god for Novocain'"

"You remember that after all this time?" Terry inquired enjoying that it was HER turn to make HIM blush for a change

"Well, yeah" Don said recovering quickly "You looked so cute with your cheeks all puffed out like a squirrel with cotton" Don got shoved for that one but Terry was laughing so he knew she wasn't mad

"Agent Eppes, I just wanted to thank you for saying that. I just hope she bought it"

"I'm sure she did. If she didn't, you're a med student and you're allowed to mess up, you're here to learn. Bet you won't forget to ask again"

"Definitely. Here she comes"

"I'm back. Put your gloves on and then take this" Marlene said waiting for him to put on his gloves, and then handing him a syringe. Jacobs seemed to become more confident knowing that now was not the time to be timid

"Ok agent Lake a small prick and a little burning" Jacobs described right before it happened "Ok we'll wait one moment while it takes effect" Don and Terry sat there holding hands, enjoying not thinking for the first time that day, letting the med student handle everything. Terry barely noticed when Jacobs started the suturing and only realized he was done when he yanked off the gloves and dropped them on the tray

"Done already?" Terry asked

"Well, yeah but I'm sure if you want to put in a few more-" Jacobs started

"No, that's ok, I think I'm good with these"

"Ok, well see your primary care physician to get these removed in seven to ten days"

"I'll be back in a few minutes, I just have to punch out, then I'll take you guys up to Charlie" Marlene said to Terry and Don as they gathered their things and stood up

"I thought you weren't off for another half an hour" Jacobs commented

"I came in an hour and a half early, they'll let me leave a half an hour early. Besides, I'm probably going to be upstairs for awhile, so of course if it gets really busy just call up to the surgical waiting room"

"Ok. Thanks Marlene"

"Welcome" She said walking towards the staff lounge. Jacobs turned to walk away (to the desk for another chart assumingly) but Terry called to him

"Yeah" Jacobs said walking back towards them

"You'll make a great doctor. I know you may think you won't be but you will. You just can't appear to be nervous. If you appear nervous, the patient is nervous, they'll think you don't know what you're doing and then that makes them not trust you" Terry said smiling then walking towards the lounge to wait for Marlene. Jacobs looked confused

"She um has psych training. She's a profiler" Don added noting his confusion

"Oh, ok"

"She's right though" Don said shaking his hand and then joined Terry in waiting for Marlene. Jacobs just headed to the desk looking confused but happy at the same time

"You guys ready?" Marlene asked showing them to the elevators

"For the worst" Don whispered under his breath staring at the doors praying he'll find Charlie doing anything but scribbling on the walls with numbers.

Sorry that took so long. It was going to be longer but for some reason I didn't get a chance to write until tonight and the computer was needed for something of great importance so I cut it short. I promise that I will tell you about Amita's condition in the next chapter :crosses heart:

As for the second author's note (and the credit for the following goes to Cora Clavia): I would like to write to Sabrina Lloyd and thank her for her work on Season 1 of Numb3rs - even if you're ticked she's leaving, you must admit she did a great job - and who knows, maybe if she sees she will be missed, we might see her in another episode someday, provided they don't kill her off ala NCIS. Anyhow, I want to show solidarity among Numb3rs fans. So I propose to write on behalf of all of us fans here at if you want to help me, here is what you can do:

Send me your first name and pen-name (for example, if I was Helen of Troy, I would be Helen "Cora Clavia") via reviews so I will get them via email, and tell me how you think the character of Terry enhanced the show. I will incorporate these opinions into a letter, and under my signature I will include a list of all your names and pennames. I will merely thank Ms. Lloyd for her fine work and wish her well in future endeavors.

Also - other authors - if it's not too much to ask, could you encourage your own readers to join in this project? If we can all work together, I bet I could get 30 names.

Thank you so much for reading this - please put your name, pen-name, and opinion in a review, and I'll get it in an email - three cheers for Numb3rs, and have a good day… so send them to either me or Cora Clavia


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The elevator ride was silent. All the good feeling that had surrounded Don and Terry with their admission of feelings was gone knowing what they may be facing. Marlene waved to the nurse, Barbara, behind the desk who was busier trying to get the intern to leave her alone more then paying attention to the newly arriving people. Don saw the sign of the waiting from the end of the hall. Marlene kept glancing at Don and Terry willing them to say something. However, they stayed silent until they opened the door to waiting room

"Charlie?" Terry called out softly. Charlie was sprawled out on the chairs staring unblinkingly at the ceiling

"Has it been an hour already? I was only at two thousand sixty three seconds, must have started counting at the wrong point…" Charlie answered still staring at the ceiling

"No, I just got off early" Marlene answered his question. Don walked over and nudged him to sit up so that Don could sit next to him on the left, Terry on the right, and Marlene in a comfy chair across from him.

"Oh. I'm surprised that Mary isn't here yet" Charlie replied quietly STILL staring at the ceiling

"I'm sure she'll be here soon, but um how about we get a cup of coffee?" Terry said placing a hand on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie's eyes went wide at the suggestion, and then he stood up and stared out the window not answering her. Don's eyes followed Charlie slightly worried, than something clicked and looked back at Terry who looked embarrassed, confused, and worried, seemingly not understanding a person's reaction for the first time in a long time. "What did I say?" Terry whispered. Marlene moved in, she was curious

"Terry, think. How did this whole ordeal start?" Don said quietly more out of habit then trying to keep what they were talking about from Charlie. _I doubt he would hear me even if I stood next to him screaming the conversation across the room_

"I wanted to find out how their date went?" Terry spoke

"Are sure you didn't get brain damage from that cut?" Don poked fun at her. She should have figured it out before he did and now she seems to be trailing behind by a mile. Don's answer came in the form of Terry hitting him. "WHERE did you go to find out about the date?"

"The…coffee shop" Terry finished realization dawning on her face, quickly replaced by the look one gets when they realized they put their foot in their mouth. She stood up and walked to Charlie and stood next to him "I'm so sorry" Terry said softly trying to express everything she was feeling at that moment in those three words. She had already admitted her guilt to him but that hadn't made it go away. In fact it increased with the realization of sitting in the waiting room had brought.

"You don't have to say sorry Terry. We've already done this" Charlie finished out softly. Not that he didn't appreciate the support but at this very moment he just wanted to be left alone to remember Amita the way he wanted. All the talk of blame was making him remember her lying on that gurney, jerking up off the table every time they shocked her

"Done what?" Don asked

"Laid blame. Terry already said she blamed herself, I already told her I blame no one but the man that shot her"

"But I took her there!" Terry exploded. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She had grown to be friends with Amita. They had gone out shopping, dancing, and even the occasional drinking when Terry had had a really bad day. For some reason they had kept their friendship a secret, never told Don or Charlie about it. Now, she may have lost her only true friend she had left, and no one was letting her express her guilt

"But you didn't shoot her! Terry, I understand how you feel. There were many opportunities I could have taken to send her home but I didn't. There are too many 'if only…'s Terry, you can't go through every one it will eat you up inside" Charlie took her hand and lead her back to the chairs. They sat there silently staring at the floor for a moment then they looked at each other. As Don watched, understanding seemed to pass between them, than Charlie and Terry wept. Don was startled at this sudden change of emotion. He was prepared for the collapse of Charlie but not Terry. He looked desperately at Marlene, who looked just as surprised as Don. As Don looked back at the two of them hugging and crying, he felt completely out of place, so did Marlene

"Don, how about we um get some food to bring up here? I'm sure you guys haven't eaten since breakfast" Marlene said feebly, grasping at straws, anything to that relieve her and Don from the awkwardness and give Terry and Charlie privacy

"Yeah that sounds good" Don said standing quickly. Terry and Charlie didn't seem to have acknowledged them leaving so Don quickly scribbled a note and then left hastily with Marlene

"I don't think I've cried that hard in years" Terry said after both Charlie and Terry stopped crying. There were no tears left

"The last time I cried that hard was at my mother's funeral" Charlie answered, picking up the box of tissues from the table. Terry smiled taking one realizing how strange this scene was: Her and Charlie wiping their eyes with tissues after they had both had a good cry on each other's shoulders

"Where did Don and Marlene go?" Terry asked scanning the room just realizing they were alone

"They went downstairs to get food and 'liquid'. Guess coffee is never going to be the same for any of us" Charlie said throwing out the note. He sat back down next to Terry in silence. Both contemplated what to say next but they were spared when Don and Marlene walked back through the doors

"Do you um feel better?" Don asked handing Terry a cup of herbal tea and Charlie a cup of coffee (all the while silently praying in his mind not to upset them again)

"Much. I think we both just needed to get that out of our systems" Terry answered taking her tea and giving Don a smile to reassure him that she wasn't going to suddenly break down into tears again

"I um have to go. My daughter called but I wanted to just let you know that I talked to the surgeons, or rather the OR nurses, and they said the surgery would be another about another two hours. I'll be back tomorrow. What's Amita's last name so I can find you guys when I get back here" Marlene said at the door. She was hoping that her fake optimism would appear real and rub off on the other members of the party

"Ramanujan" Charlie answered sipping the coffee seemingly not tasting it. The look on the seemed to imply that he didn't actually want the coffee but rather drinking it for the feel of doing something normal

"Ok. I'll see you all tomorrow" Marlene said turning. When she was far enough away she whispered, "I hope"

The silence was almost too much for Charlie to bear but to sit there drinking coffee and watching T.V. felt too normal to fit what was really happening: Amita was in a surgery to save her life, and he felt wrong going on pretending life is normal. He wanted to do something, anything that seemed appropriate to the situation but there was nothing to do. Cry? He had cried himself dry. Scream? That wouldn't work, as much as he felt like screaming it would do nothing but scare Don and Terry and leave him with no voice. There was nothing left to do but sit and wait. The seconds seemed like hours, minutes like days. Time was elastic. It felt like days and then mere seconds. It was torture to Charlie. Don and Terry had curled up on the chairs: Don against the arm, legs stretched out, and Terry in between his legs leaning against him. Charlie's mind played tricks on him and for a moment he saw that it was he and Amita leaning on the couch in a love without a care. Though when the vision ended he saw that while yes Don and Terry were with each other they were far from blissful. Don looked exhausted and Terry's supposedly waterproof makeup she had worn had run down her face leaving small black lines in its wake. Charlie was surprised that she hadn't wiped it off, and was even more startled when something started beeping

"Two hours have passed" Don said simply pushing the button on his watch. That means that the surgery, assuming there were no complications, should be over

The room fell silent again as the group waited for the doctor to come find them. However, to their disappointment and great worry at least another half hour passed and still there was no news. The group gave up their vigilant poses and returned to the more comfortable positions they were in before Don's alarm went off

"Why do you think it's taking so long?" Charlie asked the silence. Don and Terry looked at each other, both seeming to form words to answer him. Terry found her words first

"There are many things they need to do during surgery. They need to prep the patient, put her under anesthesia, the doctors take a good twenty minutes getting washed and changed. Then it depends on what kind of damage the bullet did" Terry finished as strongly as she could. She hated saying those words, being so blunt with Charlie. Charlie however blinked as the truth in her words sank in and nodded

"Charlie, its too quiet recite the numbers to something" Don mumbled

"You want me to recite numbers?" Charlie asked relaxing a little

"Yeah. It'll relax all of us" Don said closing his eyes, Terry following suit

"Ok. The numbers of Pi- three point one four one five nine two six five three five eight nine seven nine three two three eight four six two six four…three three eight three two seven nine five zero two…eight eight four one nine seven…one six…nine three…nine… nine…three" Charlie trailed off falling asleep. The day had finally caught up with him. However there was no one to wake him up for Terry and Don had fallen asleep too.

"Barbara, where is the family or next of the kin for the gunshot wound?" Dr. Peters asked the nurse behind the desk

"The last time I checked Marlene had left them in the waiting room" Barbara responded not looking up from her book

"Thanks" Dr. Peters mumbled. Tired from a one and a half hour surgery that had somehow stretched to three, he wasn't in the mood to deal with the nurses. He pushed the doors open to the waiting room and smiled. The family was sprawled out over the chairs, one member mumbling numbers. He coughed loudly and everyone awoke with a start "Are you here for news about a Dr. Amita Ramanujan?"

"Yes" Charlie said standing and walking closer to the doctor in what seemed like one quick movement to Dr. Peters' tired eyes. As the man approached closer, her noted the concerned expression in his eyes and he knew it best to give the news now

"She's made it through surgery" Dr. Peters spoke and waited. Charlie stood stunned while Don and Terry smiled

"I'm sensing a but" Charlie said softly, knowing that while yes she had won the battle of surgery, the war for her life was not over

"A very large one at that. She made it through surgery, but she had lost a lot of blood before we got her and then from somewhere she hemorrhaged and lost another eight units, which on top of what she had already lost, I was surprised she made it through. The bullet nicked a vein, a very small nick mind you but there was a nick all the same. Left a nice sized hole in her scapula. She will be put in a cast to immobilize her shoulder, and she'll have to attend physical therapy. We'll have to monitor her in the surgical ICU but I'm optimistic that she'll be out of here soon" Dr. Peters finished and gave the party a smile to reassure them all

"Can I see her?" Charlie asked with a small smile, happiness in his eyes, and the worry lines already disappearing from his face

"Of course. Mind you that you can't stay long" Dr. Peters responded holding the door open and leading the group to where Amita's room. They stopped outside the unit though "I'm warning you now that she still looks very pale and there is a lot of gauze but she's there" Charlie rushed in, Terry after him. Don paused "Here's my beeper number in case you need anything"

"Thank you so much doctor. I'm sorry my brother and girlfriend didn't appear to more appreciative-"

"Stop. You don't have to apologize. I know they care about her and I didn't expect to get a thank you…until morning at least" The doctor added a joke to make Don a smile

"Thank you again" Don said walking through the doors, taking a breath and thinking the worst is over

I was tempted so many times to leave you guys hanging but then I knew you'd beat me. I know I've said this before, but I'm only planning to have two or three more chapters though I don't know where my writing will take me till I write…did you guys really think I'd kill her!


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's note: **I made a guess at the hospitalization period and stay tuned for the epilogue

Chapter 35

It was an hour or so before Don and Terry decided they were going to go back to their apartments (well that's what they said, what they really did was go back to Don's and cuddled, after a day like that all they wanted was each other), Charlie however insisted on staying with Amita. Amita still held the porcelain look but there was a little bit more color to her cheeks. Dr. Peters wasn't kidding when he said that there was a lot of gauze, her whole upper body was wrapped in it. Tears came to Charlie's eyes when he laid eyes on her again. He willed them not to fall. He knew she wasn't dying anymore but the sight of her paler then she ever should be and the amount of gauze and tubes and machines…it made him lose it. When it reached around midnight, Charlie carefully curled up next to Amita in the bed. He kissed her goodnight and fell asleep, glad for the reprieve from thinking, glad to just be with Amita. The first time the night nurse visited she was very tempted to wake Charlie. Visiting hours were over, and that couldn't be very comfortable. However, they looked so peaceful and it wasn't hurting her, so she let him be. Charlie woke the next morning, a little stiff but that was to be expected. Opening his eyes, he looked over at Amita's pale face and found her deep brown eyes looking back at him

"Amita!" Charlie exclaimed after a moment's shock

"You're here" Amita whispered. The last thing she had expected to see when she opened her eyes was Charlie's sleeping face

"Of course. I haven't left your side, well except when they kicked me out of the trauma room and they obviously wouldn't let me into the OR but other than those times…" Charlie trailed off realizing he was babbling

"How long have I been out?" Amita asked a little stronger. She was almost fully awake now

"Not longer than a day" Charlie not knowing the exact amount of time for the first time in his life

"That's a relief" Amita said awake now. The room went silent neither knowing what to say even there was so much to be said. They were spared when the morning nurse stepped into the room. She blushed slightly at the intimate setting but continued walking, when she saw that her patient was awake

"Oh you are awake, I'll get the doctor" The nurse said rushing out of the room still blushing

"Think she's new?" Amita asked laughingly gently

"Probably but I don't think many nurses would know how to handle the me curled up next to each you" Charlie smiled and the slow blush that crept across Amita's face. _Good, its still as new to her as it is to me_

"Glad to see you're awake Dr. Ramanujan" Dr. Peters spoke not looking up from her chart. When he did he added "and good morning to you too Dr. Eppes"

"Good morning and please it's Charlie" Charlie replied rolling out of bed. The doctor needed to examine her and with him in the bed it would impossible

"I thought you would have gone home by now Charlie" Dr. Peter's said surprised. He walked over to Amita's bedside. As the doctor pulled down the gown to examine Amita, Charlie averted his gaze. Charlie was still shy around women, especially Amita. He wanted her to be comfortable when they had that intimate of a moment, not lying in some hospital bed. Dr. Peters was a little curious on why Charlie averted his gaze but didn't say anything. He made some notes on her chart and closed it

"So how am I doing Doctor?" Amita asked a little afraid of the answer

"Amazing. I see your color has returned and all body functions have relatively stabilized. You'll have to undergo physical therapy for your shoulder"

"When will she be able to leave?" Charlie asked from his place at the other side of her bed

"In a week or so. We need to watch her for complications and infection" Dr. Peters answered, glad at the relief that showed on Charlie and Amita's face

"A week that's a lot faster then I thought" Charlie commented smiling, breathing for what felt like the first time since the doctor came in

"Well Amita is getting better faster then I thought she was. I didn't expect her to wake up until at least this afternoon" Dr. Peters paused for moment and regarded the scene: Amita all her color back, no pain showing. At her side a man who clearly loved her beyond belief "I'm going to leave you alone because well I have patients who are sicker then you"

They all laughed for a moment but the joke ended when Amita spoke with the most sincere look she had ever had "Thank you Dr. Peters. Those words come nowhere near the thanks I wish to express but they'll have to do"

"Yes, thank you so much Dr. Peters" Charlie added rising to shake the doctor's hand "I couldn't tell you what thoughts were running through my head while I was sitting in that waiting room. There were so many things I needed, well need, to say to her and you gave me the chance to say them"

"Well then I won't keep from saying them any longer by standing here" Dr. Peters smiled a smile that let them both know that their gratitude was accepted. He left and closed the door behind them

"So what are these things you needed to say to me?" Amita asked quietly. Charlie walked back to Amita's side, sat down at the edge of the bed next to her and thought for a moment. _How do I word this in a way that won't scare her? I don't want to rush things and scare her off by telling her I love her after first date but I just…here goes nothing_

"Amita, there aren't words to describe what went through my mind when I heard your voice on the other end of the phone. The fear I felt when I heard you get shot consumed me, I cried thinking 'oh my god I've lost her'. When Joe told me you were pale, I conjured an image" Charlie's voice broke and he paused until Amita's hand found his and gave it a gentle squeeze "It made me sick. Statistics were running through my head and it was too much. The relief when Don finally brought me to the coffee shop was immense. I paced outside the ambulance, and my heart dropped when I saw your rolled out. You were too pale, and" Charlie's voice broke again as the image of Amita lying on the gurney swam into his line of vision. Amita squeezed his hand again and he continued, "I urged the ambulance on with my mind as if it would make a difference, we were almost there when you went into v-fib-" Amita gasped. Charlie looked at her confused

"No one told me that" Amita whispered. She knew that she had lost a lot of blood but no one told her that she was that bad as to go into v-fib

"I'm sorry that I told you so ungracefully but all of this previous conversation has been leading up to this: when they lost your pulse, I lost it. It was too soon lose you. I couldn't stand it…I started to pray. The second shock they gave you brought me to my senses, I didn't have time to waste, and I needed to say what I needed to say before I lost you. I'm so sorry its taken me so long to say the words I'm about to say. Amita Ramanujan I love you" Charlie finished talking looking down at there hands. _That didn't come out sounding they way I wanted it too. That came out sounding scary. Oh god she's going to run away! Damn it, I've blown it. Right now she's probably formulating how to get away from- _

"I love you too" Amita said squeezing his hand. Charlie looked up and appeared to be so startled, Amita almost laughed

"You do?" Charlie asked amazed and startled. Now Amita just had to laugh

"Of course I do. I've loved you since I started reading your work. I came to Calsci to work with you. My dreams came true when you became my thesis advisor. I love you Charles Eppes" Charlie leaned over and kissed her softly. The kind of kiss Amita had dreamed about. It may be the hospital but there was no other place she'd rather be then in Charlie's arms.

THE END


	36. Epilogue

First the thanks, then the chapter…I can't begin to say how much all of you reading this story means to me. To be honest I'm not a very confident person so it took a lot for me to post this story but all of you made it worth it. MyLadyLorna, you were my first reviewer ever, you spurred me to write the next chapter and adding me the story to your fav list. D.Lerious, you were a constant support throughout the whole story, and you two thank you for adding me to your fav story list. Anneack, thank you for the pointing out what should have been completely obvious to me. Reannablue, Marie the fallin, Ashboaz, Kippling croft, knadineg, kausar, Ilovecherries123: Thank you for showing me that more then three or four people read and liked the story. ForensicsFreak1988: Thank you for your encouraging and…interesting comments and last (but certainly far from the least) Piccolo Chic, you were there for the whole story and encouraging me the whole way, when it seemed no one was interested in reading the story anymore, you'd pop in with another comment and I knew I had to keep writing even if you were the only one. Of course a HUGE thanks goes out to those who may not have commented but definitely read it (yes that means you Rose), I couldn't have 5467 hits without you. Thank you to the others that have this story on my fav list, and those that have this story on their alert list (I feel silly because I don't know what that means but I'm sure it's a good thing). Ok so enough of the 'thank you's, now to the story

Epilogue

_**One year later**_

"Charlie stop fidgeting" Don yelled at his brother while trying to fix his tie in the mirror

"I can't help it, I'm nervous. Aren't you nervous, how are you not nervous?"

"Because I've done this before" Don answered finishing and checking himself over again. Satisfied that he looked ok, Don took the ring boxes off of the dresser

"Yeah but you weren't nervous then either?" Charlie said looking for something to do with his hands

"Not really" Don answered sitting down next to his brother and handing him his ring box "I loved Kim and getting married was the natural step for us to take. Now, I see that I love Terry more then I had loved Kim. I know that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with Terry and giving her a ring just is just a physical representation of that. Do you love Amita?"

"With all my heart" Charlie responded without hesitation

"Then tell her you love her, give her the ring, and you'll live happily ever after" Don answered pocketing his ring and giving Charlie a clap on the back. Charlie opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it when the doorbell rang "Breathe Charlie" Don reminded him standing up then pulling his brother to his feet

"Don what if she says no?" Charlie asked shaking slightly. This new revelation seemed to scare him more then the thought of proposing

"She will say yes Charlie, I've seen the way she looks at you"

"Boys, the girls are here!" Alan yelled up the staircase

"You ready buddy?" Don asked straightening Charlie's tie

"As ready as I'll ever be" Charlie nodded and descended the stairs with Don close behind him

The first half of the car ride had been completely normal: an airy conversation between the girls in the back while Don and Charlie battled over the radio. Halfway through the ride however, both girls noticed how quiet the boys seemed to be.

"Amita" Terry shifted over and whispered in her ear. She wanted to talk to her but not let the boys know they were talking

"Yeah" She whispered back

"Is it just me or are the boys really quiet tonight?" Terry commented eyeing the boys suspiciously

"I was just thinking that. Charlie's actually been acting strange for a few days. Is he working on anything with you?" Amita asked. Charlie had taken to withdrawing into himself more lately and she was slightly worried, especially when he swore nothing was wrong but the behavior continued

"No. Maybe he's working on something higher up and Don knows it. I honestly don't know" Terry quickly finished off noticing they were pulling into a parking lot. The girls unbuckled their seatbelts and sat there knowing that in a moment or two the doors would open, and after a moment they did indeed open "Aren't you just the perfect gentleman" Terry teased. Don just pulled her into a hug and walked towards the restaurant. Amita just smiled, gave Charlie a quick kiss, and they proceeded to catch up with Don and Terry. The group was seated quickly, having made reservations (on Charlie's insistence). Again the dinner started out normal but when the waiter asked if they wanted to order desert and took their plates away the boys fell silent. Abruptly Amita excused herself to go to the bathroom, Terry following close behind

"Ok now I know that something has to be going on" Amita exclaimed as soon as the bathroom door shut. Her outburst scared a few other patrons waiting for the bathroom.

"What makes you say that?" Terry asked reapplying her makeup. She for one wasn't worried. _So the boys have a secret?_

"You may be an expert at reading Don and well everyone else but I'm the expert when it comes to Charlie. He's been quiet for a few days, in fact since he made the reservation, and he's starting to trace numbers on the tablecloth, a sign that he's nervous"

"You know now that you mention it Don has started a few of his nervous habits"

"Like what? I've never noticed any before" Amita asked starting to fix her own makeup (she was already there, why not?)

"Well that's because he suppresses them" Noting Amita's confused look, (which was a feat considering she was reapplying mascara), she added "They make victims, other agents and even suspects nervous. He never really noticed he was doing them until I told him"

"Which one is it?" Amita said taking a seat in the little couch the restaurant had provided, Terry taking a seat next to Amita proceeded to start one of her own nervous habits: drumming her fingers

"Peeling labels and tearing them into smaller pieces. He destroyed that wine label in five minutes. What do you think they're nervous about?" Terry asked not noticing her fingers

"I still want to put my money on the 'project' theory but that wouldn't make Don nervous enough to revert to his nervous habits, right?" Terry nodded "That and I'm assuming if it was a project and not with the FBI Don couldn't know, its classified info" Terry nodded again "So what do you think…oh no" Amita said paling a little

"What? What!" Terry exclaiming afraid that Amita had figured out the reason and it obviously wasn't a good thing

"They're going to break up with us aren't they? I mean, take us to a nice restaurant where we won't make a scene and we'd each have the other there to comfort us" As Amita finished she looked like she was going to cry

"No, that can't be it…can it? It makes some sense but why would Charlie break up with you?"

"What about you and Don? You don't think you have a decent reason to stay together?" Amita said avoiding answering Terry's painful question

"A decent reason to stay together but a stronger reason to break up: we work together and we put our lives on the line, we need to trust each other to do what is best for EVERYONE not just what we want but you still didn't answer my question"

Amita sighed, "I honestly have no clue. Maybe he's gotten tired of me. Maybe I'm getting in the way of his math"

"I don't know either. Lets go and get this over with so we can still catch a cab in time to get to a supermarket to buy a pint of ice cream"

"Quart. Charlie is definitely a quart of ice cream guy for me" Amita fixed

"Wonder what that was all about?" Don questioned watching the girls walk to the bathroom. Don turned expecting to get an answer but found that Charlie was just staring at the tablecloth murmuring something and tracing numbers "Buddy, you ok?"

"Hmm?" Charlie responded stopping everything he had been doing to look at Don

"Are you ok? You're tracing numbers and murmuring"

"Oh. You saw that?" Charlie asked a little sheepish

"Yeah. What were you saying? Tell me you weren't going through marriage and divorce statistics again"

"No. I was practicing what I wanted to say to Amita" Charlie blushed. He was caught practicing how he was going to propose, _Bet Don didn't do that when he first proposed to Kim_

"You've planned it?" Don said getting a little nervous. He didn't know what he was going to say to Terry

"Not really. Everything I want to say comes out like math. I'm so nervous I keep using mathematical terms to describe how I feel and our situation and I don't want to do that. This is a moment she's going to remember for the rest of her life and I don't want it to involve math"

"That's perfect buddy. Now lets get to those microphones before the girls get back. Take a deep breath and follow me" Charlie and Don stood putting their proposal plan into action

"Terry am I imagining things or are the boys gone?" Amita said gesturing to where she thought there table was but the men that they came there with weren't at the table

"Um, I don't think you're imagining things. I don't see them anywhere"

"They left us! The least they could have done was paid before they left us" Amita said dropping into her seat. Terry sat across from her

"Well screw that. We'll pay tonight and I'll take Don's money tomorrow" Terry said toasting Amita. They were still laughing when the waiters approached them with two plates covered by metal silver tops

"We didn't order dessert" Amita and Terry said together

"The gentlemen you were with ordered them for you" Amita snorted and went to open the dish but the waiter moved the dish away from her and said "Wait one moment. You too" He added when he caught Terry eyeing her own dish

"Um excuse me everyone" A voice came over the system that normally played soft Italian music

"Hmm. That sounded like Charlie" Amita said twirling her fork

"Please everyone be quiet" Another voice called out

"That sounded like Don" Terry said slowly looking at Amita

"Thank you. Hi, um my name is Charlie Eppes-" Charlie said stepping into view

"-And I'm Don Eppes" Said Don stepping into view. The girls looked at each other and back at the boys

"We're here with our beautiful girlfriends, Terry and Amita" Charlie said pointing to the table

"Wave hello girls" Don said smiling. All eyes turned to Amita and Terry. Both blushing they waved "Were not here to provide entertainment. Terry, when we met at the academy I knew that day that I would care for you deeply. I just never knew how deeply until now. When we broke up the first time I felt my heart break despite my saying it was mutual, but I've said all of this already. I'll let Charlie take his turn" Don said placing a hand on his brother's shoulders then they both started towards the table

"From the moment I saw you I knew that I wanted to be with you. It tore me up that because of the university rules we couldn't be together. I waited too long to ask you out and thought I had lost you to another man. Then he turned out to be a jerk and I was overjoyed when I got you back" He paused and Amita thought he was done but then he continued "Amita, that day at the coffeehouse, I thought I would lose you forever. Images from that day will never leave my mind but that day has passed and I realize now what I want to do, need to do" As Charlie finished each brother took the hand of their girlfriend, pulled them away from the table and the picked up their respective dishes then they both got down on one knee

"Amita" Charlie spoke taking the cover off to reveal a ring box with a diamond engagement ring

"Theresa" Don spoke taking the cover off revealing his own ring box with an engagement ring

"Will you make me the happiest man alive? Will you marry me?" The boys said together

The girls (crying at this point) looked at each other then back down at their boyfriends and said, "Yes! Yes I'll marry you!"

Both men took the ring out of the boxes slipped it on their FIANCE'S hand and stood up hugging and kissing to the applause of the restaurant. When all the noise died down, and they returned home to tell Alan (for neither Charlie or Don had said word about he proposal), Amita couldn't help but think _Perfect_

Oh god I can't believe its all over. I think I'm going to cry.


End file.
